Austria Divided

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Over the next little while, I'll be posting my recently finished alternate history of post WWII Austria.

I'm in the process of editing and reworking sections of it and will be posting the reworked sections as I have them finished.

Along the way, I will also be posting some profiles of some of the subjects that appear in the story. Those profiles were done by Apophenia unless otherwise stated.

Sit back and enjoy 

All comments welcomed

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Introduction:

At the beginning of 1940, Austria found itself in the unfortunate position of not only having been essentially annexed by Germany, but also of watching the eastern front of the war pushing further westward towards it.

The Soviets had managed to position themselves so far west by systematically undermining the governments of the Bucharest Alliance, a tripartite body established in 1937 that consisted of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania. In 1939, a deal was struck to allow Soviet “assistance regiments” to be based inside Bucharest Alliance territory as a form of bolstering the existing forces against further German attacks.

In the military context, the Soviet regiments were quite helpful in deflecting and detering German attempts to push further eastward. However, politically, the Soviet presence proved to be the undoing of the Bucharest Alliance. By early 1940, the Soviets had successfully undermined the governments of all three countries. Britain formally cut ties with the Bucharest Alliance and the world formally recognised the body as defunct later the same year.

With nothing to stop them and a well equiped, though quite captive, force of non Soviet militia at their disposal; the Soviets systematically occupied the various countries south into the Balkans. Hungary was the first country to fall and officially surrendered in 1940.

In August of 1941, from bases in southwestern Czechoslovakia and western Hungary, the Soviets launched several heavy bombing missions into eastern Austria and all but flattened Vienna and Graz. German resistance had been pushed back to a point just west of Linz and the entire eastern section of Austria found itself under the Soviet bootheel by December of that year.

The Soviets quickly set up a land blockade that streched from Linz to Trieste to keep the Germans from trying to retake Austria and their former Balkan holdings. A treaty was signed between the allies and the Soviets stipulating that the Soviets would come no further west than that blockade line; they were to deter and deflect German attacks from that point, nothing more. To the surprise of many, the Soviets help up their end of that bargain. The blockade remained firmly in place, and grew more fortified, through the rest of the war and beyond.

At the end of hostilities in 1945, the eastern portion of Austria was still firmly in Moscow’s grasp. Despite several diplomatic attempts on the part of the west; Moscow staunchly refused to give up it’s hold on the territory.

The post war world adjusted to the idea of a divided Austria. An idea that would remain in place for many years.


Aircraft such as this Czechoslovak Avia Hurikan variant were used extensively by Bucharest Alliance forces in the occupation of eastern Austria.

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A Strong Foundation:

From it’s establishment in the late 19th century until the occupation of Austria by Germany in the 1930s and 40s; the Social Democratic Worker’s Party of Austria, SDAPO, enjoyed consistant support and influence in Austrian political circles.

In spite of being banned and heavily persecuted from 1934 to 1945, support remained strong and SDAPO reclaimed it’s position in post war Austrian politics.

Post war Austria lay divided into a Democratic west and a Socialist east. The West had quickly come under the wing of NATO and was placed under British and Canadian zoning with Salzburg established as the capital.

Meanwhile, in the east, the old capital of Vienna was largely in ruins and was in no condition to immediately be used as a capital. Members of the pre war SDAPO who had escaped German occupied Austria by being granted refuge in neighboring countries returned shortly after Soviet and Bucharest Alliance forces successfully overtook the eastern section in March of 1942. Linz was proclaimed as the provisional capital of Austria until some degree of order could be brought back to Vienna.

However, the SDAPO of post war Austria was not at all the SDAPO that Austria had known before. Indeed; politically, socially and geographically very little of postwar Austria bore any resemblance to what had gone before.

That SDAPO survived the war in any form at all was due largely in part to the Soviet presence and their growing influence in the region. Had Soviet influence not found some foothold in Czechoslovakia and, subsequently, Hungary; the members of SDAPO could very well have been helpless to find any meaningful shelter in either country. Growing Soviet influence and power all but guaranteed that they could find safe havens.

While SDAPO had been an independent and legitimate political entity on it’s own merits prior to the war; the SDAPO that emerged in the wake of the war was little more than a shell of any previous incarnation of the organization. It became undeniably clear that it was nothing more than a front that was taking orders straight from Moscow.

This did not meet with the approval of many of the party members that had come together to reform it. A few early objectors and their families were quickly imprisoned, or worse, and labeled “disidents” to serve as an example to others who might have been thinking of speaking out.

The Linz Line:

Slightly west of Linz, and continuing south along the Italy/Yugoslavia border to Trieste, was the fortified zone established by the Soviet and Bucharest Alliance forces to prevent German forces from returning to Austria or trying to retake any of their old Balkan territories.

The line actually stopped short of the border between Germany,Czechoslovakia and Austria. As the primary purpose of the line was more to keep Germany out of the Balkans than anything else, the northern terminus of it was slightly northwest of Linz. Areas north of that were patrolled regularly by aircraft rather than further fortified.

Many wealthy and well connected Austrians, and Austrian politicians, left Austria’s east portion via the gap north of the Linz terminus. This window, however, closed rapidly after the end of WWII.

In late 1946, the Venice Accord was enacted. The Soviet forces were showing no indication of any willingness to disolve the fortified region, SDAPO had no power whatsoever to order them to leave and the victorious allies had no intrest in aggravating what were already tense relations with Moscow.

Italy, who had actually called for the accord, felt it in their intrests to support a more fortified line between their territiory and the Balkan Peninsula which had, in it’s entirety, come under Moscow’s grip. Not only did Italy wish to protect herself from a potentially very dangerous neighbor, but also to prove herself as a former enemy who could now be trusted.

The Venice Accord formalised the conversion of the fortified line into a much more permanent structure with a demilitarised zone on either side of it. The accord also approved the extension of the structure and zone north to the border of Germany,Czechoslovakia and Austria.

With the formal establishment of the Linz Line, the new states of  West Austria (Federal Republic of Austria) and East Austria (Austrian Socialist People’s Republic) were born and internationally recognized in mid 1947.

Guardianship of “The Twins”:

“The Twins”, as the two Austrias were often informally refered to in western European political circles, quickly became subject to large scale military build up.

West Austria was split into a Britsh zone and a Canadian zone until a national military could be re-established and properly trained. In the most immediate post war years. The border between the provinces of the Salzburg and Tyrol was used to separate the British and Canadian zones. Salzburg and the sections of Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia that lay to the west of the Linz line would be the British zone while the Canadian zone would consist of Tyrol and Vorarlburg.

Later, the Canadian zone was expanded in response to a period of higher political tension between Great Britain and West Austria in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This later rezoning gave Canada responsibility over Carinthia up to the Linz Line and the section of Salzburg that divided the two parts of Tyrol.

East Austria became signatory to the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

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East and West Austrian airpower of the late 1940s and Early 1950s

By no means a full cross section of military aircraft in use in either Austria at the time; here isa sampling of the more common types seen:

East Austria:


Avia Sv-2
Basic training aircraft of the East Austrian Air Force (LOVA) from the end of WWII until approximately 1955. It was also used to carry out a variety of utility tasks.


Yakovlev Yak-11
LOVA advanced trainer from late 1940s to mid 1960s. As with the Avia Sv-2, the Yak-11 found it's way into unit and station hack duties later in it's service life.


Messerschmitt Bf-109
Main fighter of LOVA from immediate post war to 1950 and carried on as a target tug until 1952. Worthy of note is that several LOVA Bf-109s were powered by Soviet Klimov engines.



Yakovlev Yak-23 "Flora"
LOVA's first, if short lived, jet powered aircraft. Exact service dates remain conjectural for the type's LOVA service, though most sources agree it was withdrawn from service in late 1954 or early 1955.
It's most notable role in LOVA hands was as a target tug for the Warsaw Pact's main air gunnery school at Souda Bay, Crete. In 1955, the school was moved to Cyprus and target tug duties were taken over by Il-28 bombers of the Hellenic Socialist Republic Air Force.

West Austria:


Mustang Mk.IV
Used by the West Austrian Air Force (OL) from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s, the former RCAF Mustangs carried out a wide variety of roles after their initial tasking as ground attack trainers was taken over by the DeHavilland Vampire. Several Mustangs found their way into museums and warbird collectors' hands after retirement from OL service.


Canadair Sabre Mk.4 and Mk.6
The backbone of OL air defence from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s, the Sabre replaced the Gloster Meteor completely in OL service. It was eventually replaced by Italian built F-104G variants.

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Immediate post-war and the  1950s:

Both Austrias had been very quickly equiped with tired, left over gear from the war. However, more modern equipment was being transferred in as soon as it could be made available.

While East Austria had initially been furnished with Yakovlev 17 and 23 aircraft for it’s air defence needs; the primary fighters for West Austria were DeHavilland Vampires and Gloster Meteors piloted mostly by RAF officers while Austrian pilots were being trained further west.

While the British zone skies buzzed with Meteors and Vampires, the Canadian zone was full of  Vampires and, to a lesser degree, Mustangs. West Austrian fighter pilots received their air to air training from the RAF in Britian and their air to ground training from the RCAF at home in Tyrol.

Soon, however, the Meteors, Vampires and Mustangs gave way to Canadiar Sabres and EE Canberras, The West Austrian air force was quickly furnished with and trained on the Sabre by Canadian crews. No sooner had the first Austrian Sabre units been set up when the British started training them on Canberras. This was just as well; the skies over East Austria had the MiG-15 as their new apex predator. It wasn’t just any MiG-15 either.

The East Austrian MiG-15 was produced by Steyr, who found themselves on the east of the Linz Line. The Steyr version dispensed with the three nose cannon of two different calibres in favor of a 30mm cannon in each wing root. It also had different communications and IFF systems; the mast and line antenna typical to most MiG-15s was absent and replaced by a pair of blade antennae on the fuselage underside below the cockpit and a pair of small blister type devices on the vertical tail.

A slightly later variation of the Steyr MiG included an infrared sighting system for an air to air missile of Austrian design. With this variant of the MiG-15, East Austria byspassed having any form of the MiG-17 in it’s inventory at all, opting to go directly to the MiG-19. The Steyr MiG-15, or St-150 Bolzen as it was properly known, was never exported.

After examining an example of this later Bolzen variant that had been used in a defection and detirmining that it was a cause for genuine concern, priority was placed on getting the new Hawker Hunter to RAF Austria units as quickly as possible.

At the same time, Canada was tasked with taking a more active and direct role in the air defence of West Austria. This was in no small way due to the fact the the Avro CF-100 interceptor was known about and very high priority was given to deploying it in Austrian territory. Not only was the CF-100 to counter the Bolzen, but also to deter the Illyushin Il-28 bombers that were becoming a more and more frequent sight along the border region.

Knowing also that The MiG-19 was on it’s way to East Austrian skies, but not knowing what form it would take should Steyr be tasked with producing it and allowed to take similar liberties with it as they did with the MiG-15, the West Austrian military made the decision that a dedicated interceptor would be a requirement for them. An order was placed for a fleet of CF-100 Mk.4 aircraft. Austria also placed an order for a fleet of Canadair built T-33 trainers at the same time.

While the first group of West Austrian CF-100 crews were in Canada training. A wing of the aircraft was established at RCAF Lienz. The first three Austrian CF-100 squadrons were set up at the newly opened air base at Reid, north east of Salzburg.

An additional three squadrons of the aircraft, now officially dubbed CF-100 Mk.4O, were established at Bischofshofen.

The CF-100 Mk.4O had a number of distinguishing features of local design that set it apart from the standard RCAF Mk.4B that it was based on. Chief among these were two hardpoints under each wing and improved wing tip rocket pods. It wasn’t unusual to see an Austrian Clunk sporting six of the locally designed and produced rocket pods at a time or a combination of four rocket pods under the wings and long range tanks on the wing tips.

The Austrians also successfully married the CF-100 to the DeHavilland Firestreak missile. It was a difficult marriage but, with the MiG-19 appearing in larger numbers in East Austria’s inventory in the late 1950s, an air to air missile of some sort was deemed essential by the West Austrian Defence Ministry. The Aim-7 Sparrow was showing quite limited performance in it’s early stages while the Firestreak was rather more sound.

The sale of the Firestreak to Austria did create a good deal of tension in relations with Britain. Initially, Britian insisted that the Firestreaks could not be purchased without an order for the Gloster Javelin aircraft. The Austrian crews were quite happy with their CF-100s and were in no hurry to give them up in favour of the Javelin, which had left Austrian pilots who had been sent to Britain on exchange to train on the type quite cold and underwhelmed.
After a good deal of wrangling, Britain agreed to a counter proposal in which they would sell the Firestreak to Austria in conjunction with an Austrian offer to purchase the Bloodhound SAM. However, damage in relations between the countries had been done and would be remembered.

The Firestreak armed CF-100 was a rare sight and the small fleet of aircraft that had been modified were distributed among the six Austrian squadrons. Part of the modifications was the replacement of the fuselage gun pack with a an avionics package for the missile. Typical configuartion would be fuel tanks on the wing tips with four missiles on the underwing pylons for rapid reaction scrambles or two missiles under the wings for standard patrols.

The most common duty for the Austrian CF-100s was shadowing Illyushin Il-14 aircraft that routinely flew along the border. The Illyushins were usually East Austrian or Soviet, but West Austrian crews more than once reported Czechoslovak ones as well. Frequently the Illyushins were in airline livery, but the suspicious lack of a predictable schedule for their flights indicated they weren’t always on airline business.

The MiG-19s were occaisionally encountered at a distance and were, for the most part, unprovocative. As with the Bolzen, the Steyr MiG-19 was first seen via a defector’s example. The pilot had set his aircraft down on a strip of road near Wels. He’d set out on a routine border patrol from his base at Selzthal and used the opportunity for his defection. The aircraft was quickly transported to Reid. The aircraft was based on the MiG-19S day fighter and had similar modifications to it’s communications and IFF systems as Steyr had made to the MiG-15’s, beyond that, the Austrian MiG-19, or St-190 in official terms, was much closer to the Soviet standard version than their MiG-15 had been to it’s Soviet counterpart.

According to the pilot, the St-190 had not been so radically modified as it had been built under much tighter supervision than the Bolzen had been. Styer had gotten themselves into some hot water with Moscow over the liberties they took with the MiG-15 modifications, the top management at Steyr was seriously restructured  prior to MiG-19 production starting . The task of supervising the Styer St-190 production line was given to Czechoslovak inspectors from the Avia company, which was producing most MiG-19s after the MiG bureau switch it’s emphasis to developing and producing the MiG-21.

This news was of no small relief to West Austria and western intrests in general. If their Bolzen was anything to go by, who could guess what a MiG-19 would come out like had Steyr been left to build them unsupervised.

While the 1950s had been a decade of intense development of the air and infantry elements of the West Austrian military; the armor and artilery aspects were left underdeveloped and in need of modernization. That, however, would change with the visible influx of more modern Soviet armored vehicles entering East Austrian service in the early 1960s.

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Steyr St-150 Bolzen
NATO codename: "Flintlock"

The East Austrian variation on the MiG-15 was a shock to many when first identified as something distinctly apart from the main MiG-15 line and it's exact nomenclature was initially a matter of great debate among western authorities.


This profile shows the camoflage that became standard to the Bolzen fleet between the late 1950s and late 1960s when they were taken from front line air defense duties and retasked as tactical strike trainers.


The Steyr Bolzen and Yak-11 in the above profile were involved in the dramatic defection of a high ranking LOVA officer in the late 1950s. The defection was successful after the Bolzen pilot chased the Yak to lower altitudes and subsequently crashed, killing the pilot.

[apophenia]

Excellent start 'north! Nice to see the 'Bubble-cane' again 

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Thanks!

Hopefully as things go on, later instalments might give you some inspiration for profiles of machines later in the story.

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The 1960s and Britan’s Cold Shoulder:

West Austria entered the 1960s with the map of it’s NATO divisions redrawn. The debacle over the Firestreak missile purchase was still a raw nerve between Britain and Austria. As a result, Britain had reduced it’s forces in the country and Canada took over responsibility for Carinthia up to the Linz Line and the section of Salzburg between the two parts of Tyrol.

Britain was also making it difficult for West Austria to support it’s existing equipment of British origin or to make make purchases of new gear. West Austria had to reduce it’s active fleet of Canberras and use older airframes for many spares as it was growing increasingly difficult to obtain them from Britain. A similar situation was facing the Hawker Hunters that West Austria had purchased, the fleet was relatively fresh but quickly turning into a real chore to keep airworthy. The effect was felt even more keenly in the helicopter end of things as the Westland Whirlwinds would need replacing, considering the myriad tasks they were used to carry out, finding a suitable replacement would certainly be difficult.

There was a similar problem in the air defence side. As popular as the CF-100 was with it’s crews, more supersonic types were being seen on the eastern side during border patrols. A subsonic interceptor, as good as the CF-100 was, just wasn’t going to get the job done. Sukhoi Su-7s and Yakovlev Yak-28s were becoming much more common along the Linz Line; West Austria needed a supersonic solution.

Canada had nothing to offer in replacement of the CF-100 as the Avro Arrow had been cancelled. The RAF would not be bringing any new air to air assets into West Austria nor selling any to them. The new English Electric Lightning, which West Austria was quite interested in, would clearly never be theirs.

A similar situation was affecting West Austrian ground forces who operated a large contingient of British armored and soft skinned vehicles. The Centurion tank was getting old and it’s ability to effectively fight the latest versions of the T-55 and the new T-62 tank were very much a concern.

While Britain had refused to sell West Austria any new air assets, the British aviation industry heading into a crisis of it’s own through the 60s, they were somewhat more willing to sell ground assets, but only somewhat. While the RAF’s presence in Austria was being scaled back, the Britsh army was still quite strong in the region and carried out routine excercises with the Austrian and Canadian army units.

Britain offered the new Vickers Chieftain MBT to West Austria in a deal which also included the FV432 infantry fighting vehicle. However, Britain offered them in substantially downgraded versions. West Austria declined and investigated other options for MBT/IFV combinations. The German Leopard MBT / SPz 12-3 and French AMX-30 MBT / AMX-VCI   were ultimately to be chosen from.

However, West Austria was heading into a socio-political crisis in the 1960s.

Salzburg in Flux:

Having spend the bulk of the 50s quite dependent on other NATO nations for defensive needs, many West Austrians were keen to find some way to show self sufficiency in some internationally visible and meaningful way. That the trade tensions between West Austria and Britain had spilled over from the military segment to other segments of the economy served to fuel the fire for self sufficiency that so many Weast Austrians were voicing a desire for.
Since the founding of West Austria, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) had been in charge in the halls of power in Salzburg. Supporting labour unions, high levels of state run industry and high government subsidies; they made life in West Austria look comfortable on the surface. The tourism and service industries that were powering the country’s economy were receiving very high government subsidies indeed. However, under the surface, the country was accumulating a large debt that the average citizen was starting to feel by the early 60s.

The right leaning Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) took full advantage of the growing debt to drum up support for itself. Touting ideas of Full self sufficency for West Austria and the removal of Britsh and Canadian militaries from Austrian soil. Further, they called for a wide segment of industries and services to be privatised and the generous government subsidies extensively curtailed.

In 1963, the FPO’s rhetoric was providing them only modest gains in popularity, they were working towards much higher support when the next national election was due in 1965. As it turned out, events over the next year or so would help their cause emensely.

The SPO was the heir apparent to the pre war SDAPO and much of West Austria’s work force were old enough to feel a certain loyalty to the old stalwart party. By 1963 and 1964, a new generation of young West Austrians were entering the work force, and the electorate, and found themselves in an uncomfortable and clearly stagnating work situation in the country. Promotions were very hard to come by and nepotism was running rampant in most work places.

Many young West Austrians left their homeland out of frustration and found greener pastures in other western European countries. Those who could not leave found themselves drawn to the FPO message. Many were already voting age, those who weren’t most likely would be by 1965.

The West Austrian military was facing not only an equipment crisis, but also a personell shortage. Young people weren’t interested in being conscripted into a military that was known to have old and difficult to service machinery, in fact many were very creative in the ways they found to avoid mandatory military service. A change of government could only help the military. The SPO didn’t seem to place the Austrian military’s needs at a very high priority while the FPO was promising to make sweeping modernisations to it.

West Austria was becoming more polarized politically in 1964. Demonstrations for or against the two parties were a regular occurrence in Salzburg. There were also more than a few demonstrations by young FPO supporters at British and Canadian bases telling the NATO forces to go home.

The Innsbruck Incident:

1964 was not all socio-political unrest. A welcome break came in the of that year’s Winter Olympic Games in the Tyrolean capital, Innsbruck. The event went well for the most part until a trio of aircraft were seen over one or two of the prominent venues a few days before the closing ceremonies.

To the casual observer, it was simply a familiar Britannia transport being escorted by a pair of equally familiar CF-100s, hardly worth a second look.

More savvy observers with good binoculars, and there were more than a few at the venues, could pick out a few more things about the trio: The CF-100s both had four Firestreaks each and the “Britannia” had red stars on the wings and a pair of peculiar pods on the fuselage.
As it turns out, they were witnessing the intercept of a Soviet Illyushin Il-18 that had made it deep into West Austrian territory before being detected. It had bypassed Salzburg based radar posts invisibly before a T-33 on a routine training mission made visual contact and reported it.
A pair of Austrian CF-100s on standby at Bischofshofen were scrambled and caught up to the Illyushin quickly.

The Austrian fighters tailed the Il-18 over the Alps and across the German Border. Just over the border, the Illyushin jettisoned both pods from it’s fuselage and another object through a chute in the aft fuselage. All three devices were destroyed upon hitting the ground.

The trio of aircraft were joined by a pair of Luftwaffe F-104 Starfighters fully armed for air to air intercepts and were escorted to Landsberg-Leck AB in Bavaria. Meanwhile, the German army dispached a unit into the Alps to recover whatever they could of the three devices the Soviet aircraft had dropped.

The Soviet crew of the aircraft were questioned at great length about their mission. The most they would say was that they were certainly NOT defectors and that their mission was to test radar jamming systems. They claimed the devices they dropped were the jamming pods and a communication relay device that sent the results of the test to a ground base. The Illyushin’s flight recorders had nothing on them to elaborate on the crew’s story. The crew was returned to East Austria without further incident.

Despite vain attempts to hush up the entire matter, several photographs had found their way into newspapers around the world. An international event, such as the Olympics were, attracted many professional photographers. There would be no hiding this incident from the world.

This incident would come back to haunt the SPO in 1965.

Vienna Ascending:

 Additonally, in September of 1964, Vienna had officially be reinstated as the capital of East Austria. While far from her former glory, she was back in order on all crucial fronts and ready to take back the mantle of capital. A political envoy from West Austria was invited to Vienna to attend the official reinstatement ceremony. For a moment, tensions eased and there was celebration by Austrians on both sides of the Linz Line at the news of Vienna getting back on her feet.

1965:

The FPO had been spouting their usual rhetoric through 1964 and certainly didn’t squander any opportunity to use the “Innsbruck Incident” as fuel to demonstrate that the SPO wasn’t taking national security seriously enough to furnish the nation’s military with modern equipment that would have detected the Il-18 before it crossed into West Austrian space and turned it away at the border.

More young people sympathetic to the FPO were joining the electorate. There was also a growing FPO sentiment within the ranks of the West Austrian military as well. Being made to work with British equipment that Britain was no longer supporting was causing frayed nerves right to the top ranks of the Defence Ministry.

The Salzburg Standoff:

National elections were scheduled for October of 1965. The various parties, including the SPO and FPO, were putting their campaigns into high gear.

Things went smoothly until the SPO campaign office in the centre of Salzburg was hit by a pair of fire bombs. Fortunately, it was early in the morning and no staff were present, but the office was gutted by fire. Soon after, the police arrested two young men not far from the office. Both admitted to the fire bombing and claimed to have been paid by an FPO representative to do it.

In the face of the media, the police and the SPO; the FPO vehemently denied any connection to the firebombing and condemned the act themselves. The police investigation supported the FPO claim of not being involved in the bombing.

In the wake of the incident, demonstrators both for and against FPO became much more vocal and confrontational. This came to a head in May when pro and anti FPO factions demonstrated near the West Austrian Parliament.

The police and military were called to the scene as the demonstration showed clear signs of breaking out into a full scale riot. As the police, who were very well subidised by the SPO, stood ready on horseback or on foot in riot gear to subdue the pro FPO demonstrators; the military was making it’s way to the scene.

The military arrived with a large contingent of Saracen APCs, mostly with turrets fitted, and immediately placed their vehicles between the police and the pro FPO demonstrators, turrets directed towards the police. The military had grown tired of waiting for the SPO to initiate any sort of modernization and were set to support the FPO if it meant they might finally get new gear.

The Saracens were accompanied by a regular rotation of Whirlwind helicopters flying low over the site with gunners clearly visible in the doors.

Demonstrators on both sides fell into a hush and a nation held its breath. Inside the parliament, an emergency meeting between the President, the Minister of Defense and the top generals of the West Austrian military was taking place.

The world also seemed to be taking notice to some degree. In Berlin, another emergency meeting between the Chancelor, Minister of Trade, Minister of Defence and generals of the Bundeswehr was also taking place.

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Cold War Within a Cold War:

After many tense hours of waiting for something to give in front of the West Austrian parliament building and a decision to come from those inside, Salzburg seemed frozen in the moment. It’s people completely polarised. Regional capitals were seeing smaller demonstrations, but nothing coming close to the tension in Salzburg.

Throughout the country, in homes, in pubs and even at electronics shops; people were transfixed on televised coverage of the goings on in their capital. The world was also watching.

Some demonstrators tried to aggravate and incite the tensions to something more tumultuous; but for the largest percentage of the crowd, the armed police and military presence was more than enough to deter them from following suit with the handful that would willingly engage in hooliganism.

Eventually, many demonstrators tired and simply went home.

In the end, the Salzburg Standoff, as it would be called in the history books, lasted nearly 48 hours. Many considered it no small miracle that in the over 100 injuries and arrests connected to the event, that there was only a single fatality. A young female university student from the FPO side of the demonstrations was spotted and shot dead by a gunner in a passing Whirlwind helicopter as she charged out between two army Saracen vehicles while preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail at the police line in front of the SPO supporters.

The standoff ended after tense negotiations in the parliament resulted in the defence ministry receiving a written promise from the president that the SPO would, with all expediency, resolve the supply and equipment issues that were plaguing the military. The military also pushed for a reduction in the NATO presence in West Austria, siding with the FPO stance that the country should strive for self-sufficiency where possible. The military and FPO were not so fortunate in getting that written into the promise.

However, the promise was enough to mobilise the military and police together to disperse what remained of the crowd in front of the parliament.

With the election looming, FPO power growing and the SPO capitulating to a defence ministry demand to end the standoff, many West Austrians were left wondering who really held the power in their nation.

The level of tension and polarisation caused by the Salzburg Standoff did not ebb easily in the minds of the people and a pall of general distrust, sometimes hedging towards paranoia, hung over the nation and it’s people.

Cold Summer:

Typically, summer would see parliament out of session. However, West Austria was in an official state of national crisis and parliament would see no holidays prior to the election.

Negotiations and arguments were the typical order of most days within the parliamentary chambers in the summer of 1965. The FPO and the SPO were fighting over the wheel of a ship that was finally being tested by the sea. The decisions made in the wake of the standoff would redefine the nation.

Outside the parliament, people tried to get on with their lives, but it wasn’t easy. A readily visible police presence had been an accepted part of West Austrian life almost from the very moment the two Austrias were internationally recognised as political entities. The SPO had funded the national police service very well. Indeed, by geographical area and population, West Austria had one of the best manned and best equipped national police forces in Western Europe. Some would say they were grossly over funded compared to other government agencies.

Overnight, the once readily visible police became omnipresent and, seemingly, a good bit more powerful. It would be sheer understatement to say that the residents of West Austria were resentful of seeing the national police hold any greater degree of power than the near lion’s share they already did possess.

The public behaved themselves, the police behaved themselves; but nobody was really comfortable that summer.

Germany Blinks:

Tense negotiations in Berlin over the current, seemingly destabilising situation in West Austria called into question the very logic and wisdom of keeping their offer of the MBT/IFV combination available to the country.

At the time, Germany had very strict rules governing the sales of military equipment. They would not sell to dictatorships at all and many in positions of influence did not want to sell to any nation that seemed the least bit unstable, such as many considered West Austria to be quickly becoming.

Consideration was also given to the fact that Royal Ordnance manufactured the Leopard MBT’s gun. West Austria’s current lukewarm relations with Britain were well known and Germany was not keen to get involved in that debacle and perhaps find themselves on Britain’s bad side.

Ultimately, in mid August of 1965, Germany formally withdrew from West Austria’s MBT/IFV competition. West Austria’s perceived destabilisation and the British content of the Leopard MBT were citied as the primary reasons for the withdrawal.

By all appearances, West Austria was left with no choice but to look to France for military supply in the immediate future.

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Life East of the Line:

Like a large section of the rest of the world, East Austria was keeping itself abreast of the political goings on of its western “Twin”.

For the population at large, it was mostly concern for the well being of family and friends that they had in West Austria. Communication across the border was possible, but quite limited and always open to some degree of censoring. One had to be very careful what one said in communication, regardless of which way it went over the border.

Austrian values and Socialist expectations often stood at uncomfortable impasses in East Austria. Overnight, a strongly Catholic population found itself subject to a regime that actively discouraged the practice of any religion and often imposed stiff sanctions on those who openly showed their faith.

Monasteries and major points of worship were swiftly shut down and religious leaders imprisoned. Smaller churches and chapels were left accessible and unlocked, but state agents discreetly monitored the doors. Anyone seen entering those buildings would be approached upon exit, or later at their homes, and receive a stern warning at the very least about the possible repercussions to their lives, and particularly their family members’ lives, if they were seen showing their faith so openly.

One case in point revolved around an army colonel who had been in command of a division of T-62 tanks:

The T-62 was not popular with its crews. It had many shortcomings and the East Austrian army particularly was having extremely bad luck with it. Most who were assigned to work with the machine preferred to be working outside of it than inside it.

After a rash of injuries and even some deaths connected to working with the vehicle had put the morale of his division, and several others, at a severe low; the colonel was at his wit’s end.

At a loss for anything else to do, he turned to his faith. He knew well enough to stay away from churches in obvious places, but he knew of a few small chapels a fair distance from his home and his base. One weekend, in the early hours of Sunday morning, he set out for one of the chapels. He parked his car on an inconspicuous side street in the sleepy village where the chapel was located and walked to the other side of the town where the chapel was.

He concluded his prayers, returned to his car and went home. He had been approached by no one and felt his safety to be intact. However, upon returning to his office the following day, he was greeted by the base commander and a government agent.

The agent presented the colonel with photos clearly showing him at the chapel. His commander relieved him of his command and discharged him from the military. As a senior officer, he was not given the luxury of a warning.

The colonel, in his pleas for some flexibility explained that he felt he could do nothing else but pray. Given that he could do nothing about how the T-62 was engineered and thus could do little to provide greater safety for the men under his command, he felt that faith was all he had left. His commander, and fellow Catholic, seemed moved. The commander knew the T-62’s reputation for being more dangerous to it’s crews than any enemy could be, the commander’s own son had been permanently disabled when he was hit by a shell casing that didn’t eject properly and ricocheted around inside the turret instead.
The government agent, however, was unmoved. As the agent could over rule the commander, the commander’s hands were truly tied. The end of the colonel’s career was not, however, the end of the repercussions for his family.

While the colonel was from the Tyrol region and most of his family were living there, thankfully, out of reach of the Socialist regime’s hands; his daughter was in the east as well; entering her final year of university in Graz.

The day after her father was stripped of his command, she found herself expelled from university and her very impressive academic records erased. She was an honours student in architecture and well liked among both the faculty and her peers.

The colonel and his daughter had nothing to stay in the east for any longer. They had been stripped of any meaningful occupational futures and the home that had been furnished to the colonel by the army.

They made their way southeast with the intent to defect to Italy via Yugoslavia and then travel to West Austria from there. However, border guards detained the colonel. His daughter watched the heated exchange between her father and the guards in the mirror of the car; soon the commandant of the border crossing joined her father and the guards and the exchange seemed to grow more heated. The exchange ended and the commandant accompanied the colonel back to the car.

The commandant and the colonel had been friends for many years before Socialism had torn Austria apart. Unlike the colonel, the commandant and his family were all from the area around Klagenfurt, firmly in the east, and he could not let the colonel carry on further without risking sanctions being brought against his own family.

The commandant explained to the colonel’s daughter that he had no choice but to arrest her father. However, he did have the authority to allow her to carry on alone and recommended strongly that she do so. He told her to go to a specific border crossing between Yugoslavia and Italy where he knew the commandant and could reasonably assure her that she stood at least some chance of getting through there.

As she got out of the car to go to the driver’s side, she and her father embraced in a tearful farewell. He gave her what remaining money he had and showed her some additional money and valuables he had stowed in the car in case they needed to bribe border guards along the way. With that, she started the car and tearfully watched her father disappear into the distance in the car’s mirror.

Her voyage to the border crossing recommended by the commandant was uneventful. The commandant of the crossing into Italy greeted her and he seemed to know who she was without her needing to explain anything. After a brief exchange regarding how much of the bribe money she would have to part with for the commandant’s willingness to wave her through, she entered Italy.

She was immediately detained by Italian border officials and questioned extensively. The Italian authorities were generally sympathetic to her and granted her a temporary stay while the required red tape and interviews at the West Austrian consulate in Venice regarding her repatriation to West Austria were dealt with.

Despite the fact that she had been born in Tyrol and, as such, was eligible for repatriation under West Austrian law, the process took nearly a month before she was reunited with her family in the west.

She did eventually earn her degree in architecture and became very respected locally.

The colonel was imprisoned until 1990, when Socialism ended. He lived long enough to see his daughter again and to see his grandchildren, but his health had suffered greatly in prison. He died, in relative comfort, in his daughter’s home near Innsbruck six months after his release from prison.

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Vienna Vexations:

It was said that nobody was more grateful and jubilant about Vienna being reinstated as the Capital than the good citizens of Linz had been. They were more than happy to see the politicians on their way elsewhere and get back to something resembling a normal life.

No sooner had Vienna come back to life as the capital than it inherited all the frustrations that came with having largely ineffective politicians all over the place that could do nothing without Moscow’s say so.

The ministry of industry wanted some latitude for East Austrian manufacturers to be able to design and build vehicles for the country’s military that were more specifically tailored of East Austrian needs. However, Moscow forbid the design of any combat vehicles that did not originate from a Soviet drawing board to come to fruition. Austrian manufacturers were left with only being able to design and build their own non-combat vehicles. This was unfortunate as there were excellent MBT designs on the boards at Steyr and OAF that would ultimately come to nothing.

The ministry of defense sided with the ministry of industry that much of the Soviet equipment, as provided, did not entirely suit East Austrian requirements at a variety of levels and so there should be some extra degrees of latitude for adjusting the designs of combat vehicles to suit requirements. It was particularly pointed out that a company such as Steyr, with a long history of both vehicle and firearms manufacture, should be able to produce guns of their own design to adapt to the Soviet designed tanks that they found themselves license producing. Citing that the T-62 had a very unreliable main gun and breech assembly and that Steyr was perfectly capable of designing and adapting a new set up that would render that aspect of the tank safer.

Ultimately, largely due to the Steyr built MiG-15 fiasco, East Austrian companies were very limited in how they could deviate from the Soviet standard when building vehicles. They were strictly limited to modifications to communications and suspension systems. Any modification to weapons or propulsion systems was expressly forbidden.

Tanks to the West, Tanks to the East:

West Austria was not the only one facing issues of equipment procurement in the military.

The East Austrian air force was usually given priority over the army and it showed in the state of equipment. The air force had fresh MiG-21s of the latest model in large numbers while the army had a dwindling stock of serviceable T-55 tanks that they struggled to keep running and a larger stock of temperamental and unreliable T-62 tanks that nobody wanted to work with if they could at all avoid it.

The East Austrian air force was ready to effectively combat anything that came across the border while the army’s armor divisions nervously waited for the T-64 and later T-72 to come into service and take relative comfort in the fact that the infantry units were faring better in the equipment stakes.

East Austria, in fact, had an overage of T-62 tanks. The tank was also not terribly popular with Soviet forces and East Austria seemed to have the misfortune being the one to usually have “surplus” T-62s foisted upon them.

On the upside, this did give East Austria MBTs to sell to smaller nations, many in Africa, with Socialist leanings or other forms of dictatorial regimes.

This was a very small upside indeed, as it was done without Moscow’s consent. Orders were put forth to immediately forbid further sales of East Austrian T-62s and any remaining T-62s that Austria deemed surplus to it’s needs were confiscated and redistributed to other Warsaw Pact members. To drive the point home, Moscow made clear that East Austria would be receiving no T-64 tanks when they became available.

 

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Election Day 1965:

October 1965 arrived on the heels of the tensest three months anyone could recall in West Austria. Mostly it was simply low-level tensions and mistrustful looks on the street. However, the beginning of the academic year saw demonstrations and near riots at several universities and trade schools in the country as students fought to stop an FPO proposal to severely limit state sponsored post secondary education and institute a student loan system.

Indeed, the FPO used the country’s mounting debts as justification to demand privatization of many state held industries which they felt could be more profitable, and helpful to debt reduction in private form. The traditional economic engines of services, agriculture and tourism were of some help in paying debts but they clearly couldn’t shoulder the full burden.

The FPO liked to make large of the country’s fledgling technology sector and said it should also be supported and allowed to flourish; this was the dawn of the age of computers after all. Young people were being drawn to technology and the FPO, consequently, both youth issues and supporting a future economic engine of the nation figured high on the FPO’s platform.

The SPO went to great lengths in its campaign to remind voters that the FPO had some very unrealistic aims in light of the country’s debt issues, not the least of which was their insistence that the nation should strive for full self sufficiency and political neutrality by the end of the 1960s. The SPO felt such overt nationalism was irresponsible and an aim of neutrality akin to national suicide with debts at their current levels.

As the nation went to the polls, it was very difficult to predict what the result would be. West Austria would not simply come out of the election with a new government, it would come out with a new face to the world.

As the rhetoric died down in the last hours of voting and the polling stations reported their results; what appeared to be a minority government was confirmed by a recount. The nation was no more relieved after the election than it had been before.

Of  Debts and Deals:

If the SPO and FPO could agree on nothing else, they both could agree the debt had to be reduced. The three traditional engines of the economy could only do so much. West Austria needed more export products to offset the imports it was bringing in and to compensate for the loss of the old Austrian industrial base that had all ended up on the other side of the Linz Line. The newly forming technology sector that the FPO was so fond of would provide the solution, eventually.

The FPO had gained enough power and the SPO lost enough, that compromise truly was becoming the way of things. Privatization of several sectors was beginning and showing benefits. At the same time, the country was holding firm to its NATO commitments and various other alliances.

Then there was the military issue. The written promise of the president to the minister of defense was not forgotten. But how could the nation modernize it’s military without incurring significantly deeper debt?

Three Offers:

In the few months running up to the election, West Austria seemed to have very limited options on where it could obtain new military equipment from. Indeed, the only realistic option seemed to be from France.

France was quite keen to throw support behind the FPO and their nationalistic and largely Eurocentric agenda. To that end, the proposed a very wide ranging offer to help modernize the West Austrian military.

The proposal would see West Austria supplied nearly immediately with the latest Mirage III fighters, Noratlas transports along with helicopters and trainers. Additionally, they would also be supplied with the MBT/IFV combination that had been on the table before the election and a variety of soft skinned vehicles.

However, the deal was not without it’s problems:

1: West Austria’s debts to France were relatively small. Taking the French deal would drive debts deeper.

2: France wanted options for military bases in West Austria for nuclear weapons. International agreements forbid nuclear weapons in either Austrian territory.

3: While the proposal offered West Austria a lot of new equipment, France wasn’t granting them a lot of flexibility in how it could be configured.

The British Deal

Britain seemed to be doing an about face towards West Austria. With the Labour government that had come into power in the 1964 election and it’s drive towards increasing exports, the Chieftain MBT, plus a good deal more British military gear was back on the table For West Austria

Unlike the previous offer of a significantly downgraded MBT/IFV combination, the new offer featured vehicles much closer to the current British operational standard and included options for the Austrians to configure them locally to their own requirements. A variety of soft skinned vehicles were also put on the table.

From an aviation perspective, Britain offered a buy back deal on the Austrian Canberra fleet and a refurbishment deal on their Hunters. Westland Wessex helicopters were also put on the table. However, the British deal stopped short of offering an option on the EE Lightning .

The pros and cons of the British deal:

Pro: The British were offering a good part of their package as offsets to the debts West Austria had to them. Debts significantly higher than those owed to France.

Pro: Britain was offering a good deal more flexibility in equipment configuration options.

Pro: West Austria already had the infrastructure for the Hawker Hunter in place to support refurbished ones.

Con: West Austria would still be without their very much needed supersonic interceptor

Con: Britain wanted an additional two bases on West Austrian soil.

Italy steps up

To the surprise of many, Italy joined the stakes in offering to help rearm West Austria.

Italy’s offer was exclusively aviation related and featured a package comprising the Fiat built F-104 Starfighter, Aermacchi MB-326 in both trainer and light strike variants and the SIAI-Marchetti S.260 basic trainer.

Italy also offered an option on the Fiat G.91 light strike aircraft.

Like Britain, Italy was willing to be quite flexible to the requirements of West Austria in allowing West Austria to integrate domestically developed technologies into the offered machines.

Pros and cons of the Italian deal:

Pro: Italy was offering a debt offset deal to West Austria in much the same way Britain was and West Austria’s debts to Italy were nearly as high as those to Britain.

Pro: West Austria would finally get their supersonic interceptor.

Pro: A full system of aircraft from basic trainer to combat aircraft was being offered.

Con: No land vehicles were being offered.


None of the offers covered all the holes in West Austria’s defense needs. However, they were all starting points.

The Decision

Ultimately, the West Austrians were able to strike a deal that was a combination of the British and Italian offers.

The army would find itself in solidly British gear. The air force, however, would be a bit more of a mixed bag.

The Italian offer of the S.260, MB-326 and F-104 was too good to pass up. The Austrians had seen the F-104 up close, courtesy of the RCAF that was systematically replacing their CF-100s in Europe with it. The Austrians saw it as an acceptable alternative to the EE Lightning, which they weren’t being offered.

However, the Hawker Hunter refurbishment option was favoured over the G.91 on most fronts, not the least of which was that the Hunter was very popular with its crews and the basic airframe support infrastructure was already in place.

The Canberra left Austrian skies. The Austrians had difficulties keeping the Canberras going, but the aircraft still had a lot of life in them. Rather than a buy back deal, the Austrians were able to trade the Canberras back for more Hunters. Strike would take a lower priority in West Austria’s new defensive mandate and Hunters and MB-326 aircraft would take the Canberra’s job.

France was not completely snubbed in the stakes to rearm Austria, if fact they were instrumental in filling the helicopter requirements. Austria found itself purchasing a fleet of Alouette III helicopters and later Gazelles. Austria also chose the Super Frelon helicopter over the Westland Wessex when France offered an option on the upcoming Puma helicopter.

That left West Austria with a transport gap. The mixed fleet of Bristol Britannia and Canadiar Yukon transports had to be replaced. Revenues from the various sectors that powered West Austria’s economy allowed the country to purchase a small fleet of C-130E Hercules transports to modernize that end of the air force.

By the end of the 1960s, the roar of Canberras, CF-100s, Britannias had gone from West Austrian skies completely.

The West Austrian military was on the road to recovery, some additional debt had been incured along the way but nowhere near as much as might have been had the Italians and British not been open to debt offset deals.

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The West Rides Out the 60s:

The military modernization of West Austria began in late 1965 with the delivery of a fleet of SIAI S.260 basic trainers to replace the well used Percival Provosts. At the same time Macchi MB-326 jet trainers began arriving to supplement and replace the T-33 fleet.

The first deliveries of the F-104 and strike version of the MB-326 were slated for late 1966 or early 1967. The first West Austrian pilots were sent to Italy to train on the F-104 almost as soon as the purchase deal had been inked. The first of the refurbished Hawker Hunters arrived in West Austria in late 1966.

The RCAF wing at Lienz had sent the last of its CF-100s back to Canada by mid 1966 and had three full squadrons of F-104s. Meanwhile, The base at Reid was being prepared for the first Austrian AF wing of F-104s and final close out of CF-100 operations. A second wing of F-104s would be formed at the newly reactivated base at Bad Ischl.

The new mandate for West Austrian air defense took a good deal of priority away from strike operations and put heavier stress on point air defense and mobility. As such, the two large fighter bases at Reid and Bischofshofen would see significant changes.

The Reid wing would ultimately consist of two F-104 squadrons and a squadron of armed MB-326 aircraft. Bischofshofen, despite it’s fighter heritage and seniority to Reid, would see rather more radical changes.

Part of the British deal stipulated that British forces would get two new bases in West Austria. A new RAF base was to be established at Zell, nearby Bischofshofen, and would be home to a wing of Buccaneers. Bischofshofen was transferred to the army, redesignated a garrison and was made home to the training depot of the West Austrian army armor divisions. The first Chieftains, FV432 IFVs and their freshly trained crews arrived from Britain at the old garrison at Scharding, which was slated for closure, in late 1967.  A new base in the north was being built at Andorf to replace Scharding and house a fully operational armor division

Bischofshofen was fully converted and declared operational as a garrison in mid 1968, at which point Scharding was shut down and the armor division headquarters and training depot moved to Bischofshofen.

Braunau, with it’s proximity to both Salzburg and Reid, would see tremendous development as the headquarters of West Austrian AF Transport Command. Transformation of the former Canberra base started almost as soon as the last Canberra left to return to Britain. By the end of the 1960’s, Braunau had attained the status of a “Superbase” in NATO and was the largest military instalation of any sort in the country. It was home to West Austria’s fleet of C-130 Hercules transports, Super Frelon helicopters and, before the 60s were out, the first members of the country’s DHC-5 Buffalo and DHC-6 Twin Otter fleet.

The Buffalos and Twin Otters were procured partly by the return of the bulk of West Austria’s CF-100s to Canada and a series of export agreements focussing on the burgeoning technology sector in the small country. Initially, the deal called for enough aircraft to furnish one squadron of each type, in the end however, the order was cut somewhat and the aircraft were used to form a single unit.

The end of 1968 saw West Austria with it’s full complement of aircraft from the initial Italian deal. All the aircraft were proving popular and a significant amount of Austrian technology was to find it’s way into the upcoming F-104S variant.

The Hunter refurbishment program was also completed and considered a success. Hunters and their crews were happily flying again in the skies over Ebensee. Ebensee was also the last home of the dwindling West Austrian T-33 fleet.

The basic training base, now teaming with SF.260s and MB-326s was, as it always had been, at Mayrhofen.

Most helicopter activity was spread through western Tyrol and Vorarlburg with the main tactical and rescue helicopter base at Landeck. However, all helicopter basic training was done in Hallein.

West Austria’s political stability was, despite the minority government which held office for the remainder of the decade, no longer in doubt through the late 1960s. Faith in the country’s dedication to NATO and it’s other alegiances was largely restored and a broken fence with Britain seemed well mended.

Young people who had left West Austria in the stagnating pre 1965 economy were returning to the country with hopes restored that there was some sort of meaningful future for them there. The new technology sector, which was quickly gaining more of the world’s attention, was not only drawing the country’s own children home, but attracting many foreigners to West Austrian soil as well.

With a modern economic engine to power it, foreign workers and foreign investment on the rise; West Austria seemed justified in looking ahead brightly to the 1970s

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Eastern Shake Ups:

Witnessing the modernization of it’s western twin’s military and the burgeoning technology sector also present; East Austrian politicians were getting more than a bit restless with the general lack of concern that Moscow was showing over the matter.

The West’s Chieftain tanks were operational and very modern while the East’s T-55s were barely serviceable and the T-62s were as maligned as ever by their crews. True to Moscow’s word, there were no T-64s coming to East Austria.

However, after many heated debates between the East Austrian president, minister of defense and their counterparts in Moscow, the Soviets did at least do an about face and allowed Steyr to exercise their firearms making heritage by creating a new main gun, breach and casing ejection system for the East Austrian T-62 fleet.

By the time Steyr was finished, the T-62s had not only the new main gun, breach and ejection systems; they had completely new turrets. The new turrets were bigger and, ergonomically, much more appealing to the crews. Part of that appeal was the fact that the new gun and breach were designed around an auto loading system; so an entire crew position had been eliminated with the turret.

The stigma that existed around crewing a T-62 never quite lifted fully, but the new turrets did much to put crews minds at ease. New turrets were approved for enough of the fleet to see the East Austrian army’s armor divisions through the 60s and into the early 70s, when the first T-72s were delivered.

The turrets were a blessing to Steyr. Their MiG-19 assembly line had been closed not long before and it had been decided that East Austrian MiG-21s would come from Czechoslovak or Soviet assembly lines

Indeed, the MiG-19 turned out to be the last aircraft type built by East Austrian hands.

The last MiG-19s had been withdrawn from East Austrian service by the end of the 60s, replaced completely by MiG-21s. Very few Steyr built MiG-19s survive today as many were put to use as targets on gunnery ranges or fire fighting training. The irony of shooting up retired MiG-19s was not lost on gunnery school students who were getting their first taste of weapons delivery training in the cockpits of Bolzens!

The backbone of East Austrian helicopter forces were the geriatric and well used Mil Mi-4 Hound and the more numerous PZL built Mil-2 Hoplite.

The Hound fleet was reduced so that some of them could soldier on until the Mi-8 Hip could be delivered in the late 60s. With the PZL lines quite strong, the Hoplite fleet was set to carry on for several more years with no problems.

The strike component was borne largely by the Sukhoi Su-7 Fitter, which the East Austrians had in significant numbers.

The late 60s also saw the end of the piston engined transport days when the last of East Austria’s fleet of Ilyushin Il-14s were replaced after specialized versions of the Antonov An-12 and An-24 took over the surveillance and ELINT roles that the few remaining Il-14s had been used for.



The Ilyushin Il-18 fleet was in the process of being reduced through the late 60s. Most had been sold to a variety of civil operators after the An-12 took over the general transport role. A handful of the aircraft had been kept on in the VIP transport role, but was soon phased out with the arrival of Tupolev Tu-134s and Yakovlev Yak-40s custom fitted to that role.


Shuffling the Bases:

Just as in West Austria, East Austrian military installations saw a number of changes in the late 1960s

Selzthal was closed as a military airport. After conversion to a civil airport, it was mainly used for sport flying and sailplanes.

The Selzthal interceptor wing was a large one, so it was decided to divide it. One half of the wing was transferred to Zeltweg while the other half transferred to Obergrafendorf, which was in the process of expansion.

Obergrafendorf was already home to an operational wing of Sukhoi Su-7 strike fighters and the Su-7 training wing. The first phase of the expansion was the reactivation of a dormant section of the airfield and the refurbishment and replacement of the buildings in that section. The reactivated section would become home of the newly founded Tactical Strike Training Establishment. The Establishment’s fleet was largely Su-7 and MiG-15 based and was set up primarily to facilitate and ease conversion from the Su-7 to the Su-17, which East Austria was slated to eventually receive.

The second phase of Obergrafendorf’s expansion centred on the fresh construction of facilities to house the MiG-21s transferring from Selzthal. Obergrafendorf was the largest base in East Austria at the time the expansion had been completed.

The airbase at Linz, which had housed the country’s VIP transport wing fell largely quiet after Vienna resumed the status of capital. The VIP transport wing had been relocated to Wiener-Neustadt, nearVienna, and the military presence at Linz airport had been reduced to one corner of a now civilian airfield and consisted of a single unit of Mi-2 Hoplite helicopters for rescue work in the region.

The air base at Klagenfurt, the source of so many of the special mission modified Il-14s that routinely traced paths along the Linz line, remained busy in those missions. The only change was that the Il-14 fleet had been replaced by An-12s and An-24s.

Officially, Klagenfurt came under Transport Command jurisdiction. However, the true heart of  East Austrian transport activities was Graz. Very little transport actually took place at Klagenfurt. It was clearly a special missions centre in spite of where it fit in the command structure.

A small, forward air base was established at Steyr to house a single unit of interceptors and a regiment of ground based anti aircraft artillery. The interceptor units were drawn from the wings at Zeltweg or Obergrafendorf, which rotated through the base on a quarterly basis. The anti aircraft regiment was permanently assigned to the base.

Basic flight training, starting with Yakovlev or Zlin piston engined trainers then working up to Aero L-29 Delfin jet trainers, was carried out in Feldbach.

With the exception of the Mil Mi-4 fleet, which was largely based at the army garrison at Wolfsberg, the East Austrian helicopter force was quite decentralized. Every base, army or air force had at least a detachment, if not a full squadron of Mi-2 Hoplites assigned to it for general utility purposes.

In the latter half of the 60s, the most numerous combat type in the East Austrian arsenal was easily the Sukhoi Su-7. Outside of the substantial wing at Obergrafendorf, there were also smaller Su-7 operations at Bad Leonfelden and Ferlach.

The army was also seeing some changes. The main garrison at Wolfsberg was home to the infantry, while armor was split between the training depot at Amstetten and a forward base at Turnberg.

Turnberg wasn’t a popular base to be posted to. It was too small to properly accommodate the vehicles, units and personnel required to carry out routine operations. Aside from the T-62 MBT division, Turnberg was also home to an engineering brigade and a regiment of ZSU-23 Shilka anti aircraft vehicles. With the base housing and barrack blocks full to capacity and more personnel coming in as well as the various units squabbling for adequate access to the base’s inadequate vehicle maintenance facilities, something had to be done.

The first move was the relocation of the anti aircraft regiment. Turnberg was quite close to Steyr, which had anti aircraft artillery as well. Steyr’s artillery was soon to be supplemented by a regiment of newly acquired SA-4 missiles, so there truly was no need to have so much anti aircraft equipment concentrated in such a small geographic region.

It was decided to relocate the Shilka regiment to either Bad Leonfelden or Ferlach. As Bad Leonfelden had a good complement of SA-2 missiles in it’s immediate vicinity, the decision was made to move the Shilkas to Ferlach.

Tragedy at Turnberg:

While further decisions of how to remedy the overcrowding at Turnberg were being mulled over, base expansion wasn’t feasible and so was ruled out early on as a solution, fate stepped in.

An Antonov An-12 on it’s way back to Klagenfurt from a surveillance flight along the Linz Line started suffering mechanical problems. With warning lights flashing on the flight deck, the pilot decided to land his aircraft at Steyr until it could be checked out.

No sooner had the pilot been granted access to the Steyr landing circuit than one of the inboard engines burst into flames and the aircraft’s hydraulic systems began to fail rapidly. The barely controllable aircraft could not remain in the circuit and was heading directly for Turnberg.

Though quickly descending, the aircraft did manage to miss the Turnberg town site itself. Unfortunately, it crashed directly into the main barracks block at the Turnberg base. As the crash happened in the early evening, many of the base personnel had just returned to their quarters. The loss of life was staggering to the tightly knit community and made headlines worldwide.

The complete destruction on the main barracks block and extensive damage to surrounding buildings led to a decision to simply close the base permanently. The land was handed over to the municipality and a small memorial park and monument were established to mark the tragedy.

The Turnberg accident was a dark spot for East Austria in the late 60s, but darker spots were yet to come for the country before the decade was out.

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Running with the Pact:

As a member of the Warsaw Pact, East Austria was obligated to participate in and support the defense of other Warsaw Pact states and the overall security of those territories. These obligations did put the country in the unenviable position of getting their hands dirtied by a couple of notorious events in the late 1960s.

The Israeli Civil War:

The Kibbutz Movement, which had provided Israel with many high profile leaders in industry, politics and the military, had been in a fractious state since Israel had been reestablished in 1948.

Traditionally, the Kibbutz Movement had leaned towards Marxist values of Socialism in the early 20th century. However, in the post war years, many in the movement wanted to disregard Marxism and Socialism due to the atrocities and anti-semitism so overtly displayed by the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union.

The traditionalist side of the movement argued that Stalin was just one man and was not a representative of Socialism as Marx had defined it. They further believed it was entirely possible to construct a Socialist state by following Marxist principles that could show a suspicious world what true Socialism could accomplish for people and that Stalinism, and the Leninism that had gone before it, were only masquerading as Socialism and giving a good form a of government a bad name.

Arguments between the two camps were routine occurrences in the Israeli parliament. The arguments grew more frequent and more heated as the 50s and the early 60s rolled on. Rifts and divisions grew deeper and people in the street were visibly arguing the matter with each other and often coming to blows over it.

If the two camps could agree on nothing else, they agreed that Israel should be unified as one country, not be the fractured state it had become.

With pressures from external tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors and growing internal pressures on the direction the country’s political future should take, something had to give.

Matters finally came to a head in June of 1967 when the Six Day War had destabilized Israel internally past a point of no return. In a grasp for power that saw two prominent leaders of the Marxist Kibbutz camp assassinated by members of a small extremist faction of the non-Marxists, the Israeli Civil War had begun almost as soon as the Six Day War had ended.

The world watched as the nation began to collapse on itself. Moscow had sent word to the Warsaw Pact countries and Socialist friendly ones in the region to provide assistance to the Marxist side of the conflict. Turkish forces were still in Syria as they had been mobilized to assist in the Six Day War. Turkish, Greek, Egyptian and Soviet naval vessels were carefully monitoring the Israeli coast.

No overt actions were being taken by outside countries. For a while, the world just sat and watched. However, things had been going on under the surface.

Through the months of June, July and August, a series of moonlight airdrops had been recorded over various parts of Israel. The aircraft flew low and a bare minimum of illumination was used in the drops. The aircraft also were equipped with an array of countermeasures so that locking onto them or identifying their origin proved impossible.

As the airdrops continued, the Marxist faction gained an upper hand in the conflict. Quite clearly, whoever was conducting the airdrops was supporting the Marxists.

The drops continued with impunity until mid September, when an Israeli naval ship opened fire on a low flying Antonov An-24 heading south over the coast to Egyptian territory. The aircraft had been seen dropping supplies further north along the coast and so the ship was watching for it.

The Antonov was hit and the pilot managed to ditch it in shallow water just inside Israeli territory. The uninjured crew was rescued by the Egyptian military before the Israeli forces could reach the crash site.

In the week that followed the incident, the wreckage was recovered and examined in great detail. The aircraft was seemingly devoid of all national markings and the cockpit instruments and placards were in Cyrillic language only. It’s exact origins a mystery.

As the investigation of the wreckage continued, an investigator decided to try stripping some paint. His attempts were rewarded when a partial East Austrian national insignia was revealed under the paint. The world’s eyes, and criticisms, fell squarely on East Austria as photos of the revealed insignia hit the media.

Through late September and October, a well-developed support network from the Warsaw Pact to the Israeli Marxists had been revealed. The various aircraft that carried out the airdrops were primarily An-24s of East Austrian or Greek origins.

These points proved to be purely academic, as the damage had been done. By November, the non-Marxists had conceded defeat and the conflict was over. Israel emerged as a soft Socialist state and Soviet friendly.

Almost at once surplus military gear from with the Warsaw Pact started being sent to Israel. Not surprisingly, the East Austrians jumped at the opportunity to rid themselves of a few more of their non modified T-62 MBTs.

East Austrian troops were also sent to Israel to oversee and facilitate to reunification of the Israeli state, oversee the drafting of new Israeli-Arab peace treaties and the reintegration of disputed territories.

Prague Spring:

The reformist movement in Czechoslovakia that had become visible in 1968 put East Austrian policy makers in a very difficult position. The Soviet Union and various other Warsaw Pact countries tried to quell the reforms through a series of meetings with Czechoslovak representatives before taking invasive military action near the end of August.

Ultimately, East Austria opted to stand in protest of the invasion of Czechoslovakia and opened its borders to Czechs and Slovaks fleeing from the occupational forces. East Austria was still receiving some harsh criticism at the international level for it’s part in supporting the Marxists in the Israeli Civil War less than a year earlier and was not the least bit interested in attracting more negative press to itself.

Orders were given to East Austrian military units to ignore any orders given to them by Soviet commanders to take part in the invasion and to create a series of obstacles and delays along the border region to slow any Soviet land advance into western Czechoslovakia from the south.

Orders were also given to congest the airspace as much as possible in the vicinity of the two Soviet airfields in East Austria to deny flight operations from them during the invasion.

None of this sat well with the Soviets, of course. However, they were already suffering the international negative press from invading Czechoslovakia and opted to forgo any reprisals against East Austria for their refusal to join the invasion force and interference with Austrian based Soviet military operations during the invasion.

Three deaths occurred in East Austria in connection with the invasion, all of them military personnel. A single Zlin 526 trainer that was among the aircraft being used to congest air traffic over the Soviet air base at Klosterneuburg was hit in the tail by a shotgun blast as it passed low over the runway. The trainer promptly crashed into the forward fuselage of an Antonov An-22 transport, which was pointlessly awaiting clearance to depart on the homebound leg of a routine supply run.

The Zlin’s wing cut into the Antonov’s cockpit, killing the pilot and co-pilot instantly, while the rest of the trainer crashed on the ground just under the transport’s wing. The Zlin’s pilot was killed instantly in the ensuing fireball that engulfed the trainer and did severe damage to the port landing gear and inboard engine of the Antonov. The transport’s loadmaster and load handlers were able to evacuate from their aircraft unharmed.

That East Austria escaped any major sanctions from the Soviets or other Warsaw Pact nations for their choice of actions in response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia is, even today, considered by some to be one of the political miracles of the 1960s.

In the Wake of a Decade:

The East Austrian armed forces, particularly the army, were heading out of the 1960s in notably better shape than they had gone into the decade.

The last of the Mi-4 helicopters was replaced by Mi-8s. Facilities at Obergrafendorf were being updated in anticipation of the Su-17 fleet and the force of second generation MiG-21s was already in the process of being replaced with third generation variants.

The last unmodified T-62 MBTs had been withdrawn and gladly turned into range targets.

There was one thing new in East Austrian territory that was not such good news, bombers.

In a clearly provocative move, and much to the displeasure of most East Austrians, the Soviets established a regiment of Tupolev Tu-22 “Blinder” bombers at Klosterneuburg. The Soviets insisted the regiment was a reconnaissance unit only, though this was met with some skepticism in the west. Soviet bombers were not unheard of in East Austrian airspace, but they’d never been based in the country until that point. The occasional transitory Yak-28s and the impending Su-17s were one thing. Permanently based Tu-22s were a point of much greater concern.

If having the Tupolevs within striking distance did nothing else, it succeeded in sending West Austria shopping for a strike type and generally reconsidering it’s stand on the importance of a strong strike element in it’s air force.

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The West Goes Shopping:

The presence of the Soviet Tu-22 Blinders permanently based on East Austrian soil was not particularly welcomed by Austrians on either side of the Linz Line. Both Austrias were firmly non-nuclear states in both civil and military contexts and preferred very much to stay that way.

Knowing that the Blinder was capable of carrying nuclear weapons, despite what the Soviets had said about the Austrian based ones being purely reconnaissance versions, was controversial at all levels of Austrian life on both sides of the line. Protests to have the aircraft transferred to a Soviet base elsewhere in the Warsaw Pact were quite commonplace, but ultimately ineffective.

In a move of “good faith”, the Soviet military attaché to East Austria formally invited NATO to send a small envoy of experts to Klosterneuburg to see the aircraft up close. The envoy was satisfied that about half the aircraft they saw were indeed true recconaissance variants. However, they came away a bit more suspicious of the nature of the remaining aircraft. When pressed, the attache conceded that some conventional strike ability had been retained in those aircraft, though any ability in them to carry nuclear devices had been permanently diabled. This really did very little to ease the suspicions among the envoy members and they returned to debrief at the West Austrian ministry of defense with the recommendation that West Austria immediately reinstate tactical strike into it’s defensive mandate and that NATO would subsidise any aircraft that the West Austrians chose for the job.

With a blank cheque from NATO in hand, the West Austrians went shopping.

Decisions, Decisions:

In the late 1960s there was not so much in the way of tactical strike types to choose from. The TSR.2 had been cancelled, the F-111 was having teething problems and the newer strike types, like the Sepecat Jaguar and Mirage F.1 were still on drawing boards. 1968 was drawing to a close and West Austria had a decision to make.

France

The first offer came from France. In the wake of the TSR.2 Cancellation, Dassault had hoped to sell Britain on the idea of a Spey engined Mirage IV. Ultimately, this went nowhere. However, hopes to export the Mirage IV were rekindled when West Austria came looking.

Dassault went to great lengths to make the aircraft as attractive as they could toWest Austria. They had strengthened the fuselage and added several hard points along it for greater weapons carriage. The volume of the faired over recessed weapon bay added some much needed internal fuel capacity and the ability to carry more bombs on fuselage stations meant that the wing stations could be reserved for the much needed drop tanks and ECM pods.

France also offered wide freedom to West Austria in tailoring the aircraft to their own specific needs as far as avionics were concerned, this would certainly be welcome news to the country’s technology sector, which was very quickly developing a reputation as a world leader.

An option to buy the upcoming Mirage F.1 was added shortly after the initial Mirage IV offer was made as an added incentive.

The primary dowside to the French offer was that the Mirage IV was known to be a purpose designed nuclear strike type. Despite the alterations to make it solidly non nuclear capable for Austrian stipulations, there was little doubt that the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact in general would contest it’s presence in West Austria every bit as much as the Tu-22’s was in the east.

Great Britain

Great Britain came with what most considered a predictable proposal.

Their offer of the venerable Blackburn Buccaneer was not at all surprising. A widely respected and known quantity as strike aircraft were concered, it certainly was a serious contender to bring strike back into the West Austrian air arsenal.

The RAF already had a wing of Buccaneers in West Austria and so the Austrian forces had plenty of chances to see it up close and work with it, or against it, in joint excercises. They, as most anyone who encountered the aircraft has been, were impressed by it in most aspects.

Despite the fact that the Buccaneer was proven and solid, and that it had been offered to West Austria with some latitude for the country’s domsetic technology sector to upgrade systems in it, there were a few sticking points:

The primary concern was that the Buccaneer was the oldest design being offered and, like the RAF, the Austrians would be getting refurbished FAA machines. There was no escaping the fact that they would be getting second hand gear in the Buccaneer.

Second was the upgradability of the aircraft. It was a 50s design and had been in service since the early 60s, there was some serious debate about just how much upgrading could be done to it.

Third, it was subsonic. The West Austrians wanted a supersonic striker if they could get it.

U.S.A.

Despite knowing the decidedly eurocentric leanings of West Austria, two offers came from America.

McDonnell Douglas offered their F-4D Phantom II with an option for the upcoming E version.

The West Austrians were rather luke warm to the D version as they felt it represented design traits of earlier generation Phantoms. However, they were very interested in the E. The aircraft did have clear potential for upgrades and some flexibility for domestic systems tailoring was included in the offer.

The only obvious downside to the Phantom offer was that the year was 1968, the US was still mired down in South East Asia and McDonnel Douglas clearly stated that there might be some delay in the delivery of a batch of E variants if West Austria chose to order them. USAF needs for the aircraft had to be met first.

The second American offer came in the form of General Dynamic’s F-111

The West Austrians were more than a bit sceptical of the aircraft from the very moment the offer was put on the table. While it was a new design, and supersonic, it’s teething problems were well publicised.

While not ignorant of the fact that the F-111 was full of new technology, which certainly needed time to mature, the loss of three USAF F-111’s earlier in the year due to malfunctions during Combat Lancer operations weighed in heavily on the West Austrian decision to ultimately drop it from their short list. Shortly after the decision, a West Austrian general who had been taken for a flight in the F-111 said this of the aircraft:

“It was a delightful flight in all aspects and this is clearly an aircraft of tremendous potential. I have no doubt that, should it survive this clearly long and painful birth that it is enduring, it will become an aircraft that those who work with it will feel honoured to do so. It is a true pity that my nation’s needs are too immediate for us to wait for this aircraft to be fully born.”


Flyoffs and general wheeling and dealing

The short listed aircraft were systematically and rigorously demonstrated for their operability in the high alpine environment as well as lower flatland terrain. The Mirage, Buccaneer and Phantom were in a very tight race indeed, all performing admirably with seemingly very little left to choose between them. Even the Buccanner’s firmly subsonic performance seemed to be a near non issue, being easily offset with some of the most accurate weapons delivery demonstrations of the three types.

The Mirage IV’s redisigned lower fuselage with it’s hard points was working perfectly, with no diminished performance in any aspect.

The Phantom was the Phantom, rock solid all around and not leaving much to want for.

The final decision would be very difficult indeed. The French seemed to be ahead based on the high degree of flexibility they were willing to give the West Austrians in domestically upgrading the Mirage and the option for the Mirage F.1 when it was ready.

Britain and America needed to come up with some counter incentives.

The first option fielded by Britain was an option to buy the upcoming Sepecat Jaguar, built to the British standard.

Second was an option to buy the Rapier SAM system to replace the Bloodhounds that the Austrians currently had in use

The Rapiers were more interesting to the Austrians as the Bloodhounds were getting more difficult to maintain. If the Tu-22s were indeed to be a permanent fixture in East Austrian skies, the option to show them some quite modern SAMs were on hand to counter them was attractive.

The Jaguar prototype had only just flown earlier in the year, so it was too early to tell if it would lead to anything. It was also known that the Sepecat consortium was having disagreements as to exactly what form the aircraft would ultimately take. The Jaguar seemed too much of a gamble at the time to be of much intrest.

American incentives seemed a bit on the limited side.

The first incentive was the immediate provision of  a loaned fleet of USAF F-4D aircraft, plus training on them, until an order for the F-4E could be filled. With West Austria’s rather cool reception to the D model and McDonnell Douglas being somewhat non commital about when an order for the E model could be filled, it was almost more of a disincentive.

McDonnel Douglas, in lieu of anything else immediately combat realted to provide, offered the newest version of their DC-9 airliner to replace the few remaining Vickers Viscounts that were still soldiering on in West Austrian hands. While certainly outside the scope of a competition to choose a combat type, the offer of the DC-9 did hold a certain appeal, the Viscounts couldn’t go on much longer.

The Decision:

After much heated discussion, the West Austrian ministry of defence, with no small pressure from the economic development ministry, opted for the Mirage IV.

Many were immediately critical of the choice due to the aircraft’s original purpose a nuclear weapon carrier. Some felt the aircraft was too much for the nation’s requirements, that the country had set out to buy a tactical strike aircraft and brought home a full out bomber. The arguments against it were numerous. However, the arguments for it were more economic than military. It was one more way for the country’s now very proud technologies sector to shine, not to mention fully diversify into avionics. They had gotten their feet wet with avionics contributions to the Fiat F-104Gs they had bought and were even more deeply involved with the F-014S which was very soon to enter service. They were ready for more and the Mirage IV, as France had offered it to them, gave them a near blank canvas to show off on.

The criticisms and controversies would follow the Mirage IV-O through most of it’s career, but the decision was made and would go ahead.

Outwardly, the Mirage IV-O was a slightly different looking beast than it’s standard French counterpart. Gone was the radar on the underside of the fuselage, it’s volume replaced with additional internal fuel. The fuselage forward of the cockpit had been completely redesigned to hold all of the radar equipment in a nose radome. It was, in many ways, a much more capable radar than the French aircraft had. The Mirage IV-O was also subject to regular cockpit upgrades through it’s life. West Austria ultimately was the Mirage IV’s only export customer though many of the systems that the West Austrians created for it were purchased by other countries and adapted to other aircraft types.

Eventually, some of the IV-O upgrades were purchased and retrofitted to some French Mirage IVs. Despite having it’s nuclear abilities removed from it with the advent of the Mirage 2000N in French service, the Mirage IV-O upgrades allowed the ADA Mirage IVs to remain potent conventional bomb haulers for several years on.

In accordance with the French deal, West Austria also became the first export customer of the Mirage F.1, which replaced the remaining Hunters shortly after being  introduced.

Western Base Shakeups:

Of course, a place was needed to keep the new aircraft, but the only runway long enough to handle the Mirage IV safely in West Austria was at Braunau. A decision was quickly made to hand Braunau from transport command over to tactical. The Hercules aircraft went to Salzburg, the Buffalo and Twin Otter unit went to Innsbruck and the Super Frelons went to Landeck.

The Mirage F.1s were a rather simpler matter to house; they simply took the place of the Hunters at Ebensee.

Transports and SAMs:

As a footnote, West Austria did buy the Rapier SAMs and a small fleet of DC-9s through separate competitions.

The DC-9 just slightly beat out the BAC 1-11 in the transport competition. It was chosen more for it’s potential longevity than anything else.








 

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Examples of West Austrian Airpower in the 1970s


DeHavilland Canada DHC-5C Buffalo
Taken on strength by the OL in the late 1960s as DHC-5A models with General Electric engines, the West Austrian fleet underwent a rewinging and re-engining program in the 1970s that saw them emerge as C models complete with Rolls Royce engines. Ultimately, West Austria was the only user of the C model.


DeHavilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
Entering OL service alongside the Buffalo, the Twin Otter was immediately popular with West Austrian crews for it's abilitiy to operate from airfields in the mountains that many other conventional aircraft  could not.


Dassault Mirage IV-O
Controversial even before it entered OL service, the Mirage IV-O was followed by international criticism and protest through the duration of it's roughly decade long service in the OL. Despite this, it was a reliable and well liked aircraft by it's crews.


Transall C.160
"The transport that wasn't", as the OL came to know the C.160, was initially offered to West Austria early in the 1960s. However, the internal political instabilities West Austria was experiencing at the time created arguments between Germany and France as to the wisdom of keeping the offer open. Tired of waiting, OL opted for a small fleet of Lockheed Hercules instead.

Toward the end of the 1970s, when OL was looking for a transport to supplement their Hercules fleet, Germany offered a number of refurbished ex-Luftwaffe Transalls to them. West Austria had however, through strong ties to Italy, reached a better deal for factory fresh G.222 transports.

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Relations with Israel:

East Austrian military personnel and equipment had been stationed in Israel continuously since the end of the Israeli Civil War to ensure that peace was kept on both sides of Israel’s redifined borders.

Largely the duty was uneventful and when they weren’t patroling borders and keeping the peace, the Austrians were training the Israelis on the latest Warsaw Pact produced military gear that was entering service there. Prior to the civil war, Israel was set to dedicate vast amounts of its budget to establishing a very large domestic weapons industry. The Marxist victory in the conflict rerouted the money towards other sectors such as medical research and infrastructure. Coming out of the conflict as a Socialist state ensured that Israel would have no problems acquiring a reliable source of foreign made gear for it’s military.

A formal contract was struck in 1970 for Israeli air force pilots to be trained in East Austria to fly the MiG-21,  Su-17, An-12, An-26 as well as the new Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainer; all of which would form the backbone of the Israeli air arm in the 70s and into the 80s.

Fighter and strike training all took place at Obergrafendorf and All Israeli pilots who successfully completed their training were required to put in six months of operational duty at forward LOVA bases, Zeltweg or Steyr for air defense graduates and Ferlach or Bad Leonfelden for strike graduates.

L-39 training for instructor pilots was carried out, as all basic and lead in training was, at Feldbach. Graduates of the L-39 instructor pilot course returned to Israel to form the nucleus of the Israeli air arm flight academy at Beersheba.

Transport training was at Graz with graduates of the course returning to Israel for stationing at Nazareth or Hebron.

Training the reformed military of a reformed state was not easy work. The post civil war map of Israel included previously disputed territories as part of the redefined borders. While the map was new, many old animosities remained.

The new Israeli military was largely conscripted and nobody was exempted from service based on ethnicity or religious standing. The idea was to have a military that reflected all of Israel’s people equally. As is so often the case, theory and practice found themselves at odds with each other frequently for the first few years. Forcing people who normally wouldn’t look at or speak to each other to work together towards a common goal for the nation seemed impossible.

The animosities showed not only within the borders of Israel, but also in East Austria and any other Warsaw Pact country that was taking part in training Israeli personnel. One near disaster at Graz early on underlines the problems, a retired Austrian flight instructor relates:

“One morning we were briefing an Israeli crew for a routine training sortie on the Antonov An-26 aircraft. This particular training group was two thirds through training and, up to that point in time gave all the signs of being an effective crew.

They were a true mixed bag. The pilot was Palisitinian, co-pilot was Israeli with strong Marxist leanings, The flight engineer was Israeli with rather more right wing leanings and the loadmaster was from the Golan Heights somewhere.

I and the other instructor who went up to inspect that flight had both spent some time in Israel and had seen how fractious it was despite the new government’s attempts to put a friendly and harmonious face on it to the rest of the world. We looked at the crew and despite their success so far in training, our instincts told us it was madness to put this group together, but the Israeli authorities insisted on such mixes.

The inspection of the aircraft and pre-flight checks went without a hitch and we took off without incident. However, about a third into the sortie, things went to Hell very quickly on us. The pilot and co-pilot were working very competently together and the flight had been reasonably smooth, then there was a short verbal exchange between the co-pilot and flight engineer in Hebrew and before we knew it, they were out of their seats and getting ready to come to blows over the comments.

Myself and the other instructor were struggling to keep them apart while the pilot was doing his level best to fly the plane. The co-pilot was about my size so I could control him, he was also a fairly young man and could be reasoned with fairly easily. The flight engineer was a rather larger man and my colleague needed the help of the loadmaster to fully control him.

No sooner had the loadmaster gotten the engineer off of my colleague then the engineer spat some form of obscenity at him. The loadmaster landed one solid punch to the engineer’s chin and knocked him into a daze. We took advantage of the engineer’s momentary incapacitation to firmly bind him to a seat in the cargo hold.

My colleague took over the engineering duties, we cut the training sortie short and returned to base. Needless to say, there were a lot of questions given the state of how we returned. We knew the engineer had some right wing leanings and was a bit critical of the new Israel, but once the flight recorder had been analysed and the full scope of what he had said to the co-pilot and loadmaster had been translated, we ceased his training immediately and had him on the next flight back to Israel. For a few months after that, no Israeli transport training flight took off without at least two large security guards from the base aboard.

Thankfully, we never experienced another incident to that degree, but we were used to hearing insults and seeing dirty looks flung between crew members and took it to be something routine and to let it go unless it physically interfered with the crew’s ability to get the job done.

The first few years were quite difficult and we frequently questioned why we were even bothering to do it, beyond Moscow telling us that we had to. However, as younger crews came to train, it got better. We found the younger trainees, regardless of  their ethnicities or religion, to be much more flexible and less fixed in their views than some of the more veteran trainees that had served in the pre civil war Israeli military.”

Outside of controversial crew arrangements, there was also more than a bit of dissent among some Israelis regarding any involvement by East Austria in their affairs. After all, Austria had been allied to Germany in WWII and surely bore some degree of responsibility for attrocities committed against Jewish people.

There was also the matter that East Austria had taken an active hand in throwing the civil war in the Marxists’ favour. Clearly a very biased and provocative move.

The Marxist government tried to disuade people from seeing Austria as a co-conspirator with Germany against Jews in WWII and rather see them as a country and people unwillingly forced into that alliance who would have done things differently if they’d had the choice.

The Marxist government was also active in discouraging ultra-orthodox religious practice of any sort within the new Israel. They would not discourage religion in general, but encouraged much more tolerant and liberal practice of  any religion in the region.

As for East Austria’s involvement in the civil war; the Marxists tried to convince the Israelis that East Austria had no choice in the matter and that they were ordered to carry out the night drops by Moscow. However, this was not very convincing to most people as East Austria’s refusal to be part of the Prague Spring made headlines around the world so people knew the country wouldn’t always do what Moscow told them to.

Israel was not a popular posting for East Austrian military or diplomatic personnel. Anyone who had spent significant time in the new Israel left with severe misgivings about the nation’s ability to stay that way without a constant foreign military presence within it’s borders.

In time, those misgivings would prove prophetic.

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Business as Usual in the West:

West Austria went into the 1970s without much major change in its order of battle.

Like so many other NATO countries, the F-104 was a dominant shape over West Austria with both Canadian and OL forces using it concurrently. The only change was that the bulk of the OL F-104G fleet had been replaced by the F-104S.

The OL Base at Ebensee was making final touches to base upgrades to house the Mirage F.1s, the first of which arrived in 1973. That year also saw the last remaining T-33s retired from OL service, the Hunters relegated to the unit hack and utility roles.

The OL’s light strike capability was squarely on the shoulders of the Aermacchi MB-326 fleet, which was in the process of being upgraded from the B to the more capable G model. With the Hunter out of the strike picture and the Mirage F.1’s own strike abilities yet to be employed, the Macchi was one of the most active air assets in the West Austrian arsenal through the 1970s.

The initial controversy over the Mirage IV O purchase had died down from its initial intensity, but still existed in some quarters. The most frequent protests about them came from the citizens of Braunau in regards to the noise levels, particularly when RATO take offs were being conducted.

Salzburg based Hercules were joined by a small fleet of DC-9 aircraft for VIP transport.

The Buffalo and Twin Otter fleet at Innsbruck was as dependable as ever and an upgrade program for the Buffalos was being strongly considered in the early 70s.

The SF.260 and MB-326 fleets at Mayrhofen were still churning out well qualified fresh pilots.

OL Public Relations on the Wing:

The OL flight institute at Mayrhofen became the home of a display team for West Austria in 1972, when a group of instructor pilots set up a team of SF.260s to perform at various air shows around Europe and to generally drum up interest in West Austria’s youth in a military career.

The team consisted of six aircraft, rotated in and out of Mayrhofen’s generic pool of SF.260s and existed as a part-time operation initially. The team proved popular enough both inside and outside the country for the first two years of its existence, but the 70s were well into the age of the jet and a decision was made to stand the team down through the 1974 season and reactivate them in 1976 with the MB-326.

In late 1974, a group of ten fresh MB-326 aircraft were purchased specifically for the team. The team was increased from six to eight aircraft in the flying program and two reserve aircraft. The team was also made full time so it could be free to develop more complex and exciting routines, this was carried out throughout 1975.

The “Not so Super Frelon”:

The early 70s saw OL helicopter operations facing a dilemma in regards to its increasingly under utilised Super Frelons. The helicopters were either too large for the smaller transport duties or not big enough for the larger jobs.

The OL found itself happily getting smaller jobs done with their Pumas, or unhappily imposing upon NATO air arms with heavier helicopters, usually Germany and their CH-53s, to get the bigger jobs done while the “Not so Super Frelon” as they had come to be called, sat idly on the ground at Landeck.

The Super Frelons were sold back to France in 1974 and West Austria carefully considered how to fill the heavy end of its helicopter airlift requirements.

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Going Over the Line:

Early one morning in May 1976, a Mirage IV O departed Braunau on a routine TFR training sortie.

The aircraft flew a perfectly normal and standard sortie through the Tyrolean Alps and was turning north to return to Braunau. The loop back home took the aircraft close to the Linz Line, again, a perfectly normal thing that nobody worried about. By all appearances, the sortie truly was “nothing to write home about”.

Shortly before the pilot would have turned the aircraft to the west for the homebound leg of the trip, the aircraft ingested a rather large bird into the left intake; which consequently started a catastrophic engine fire. While the on board fire suppression system did extinguish the fire quickly, fragments of the engine had done damage to the flight control system and the aircraft was growing increasingly unresponsive to pilot input.

With the aircraft largely unresponsive, proper procedure would have the crew abandon the aircraft. However, the aircraft was heading directly for a suburb of Linz and letting it crash would result in a high number of civilian casualties. Additionally, though both the pilot and navigator were born on the west side of the Linz line, they had family east of it. The pilot actually had family in Linz itself. The thought of abandoning the aircraft was entertained by neither man; it was simply unthinkable from a personal standpoint.

The pilot brought full power up to the remaining engine and used what little remaining control he had over the vertical movement of the machine to keep it aloft just long enough to clear the southern suburbs of the city and belly land the aircraft in an empty field just east of it. The residents of that part of Linz got an impromptu airshow they wouldn’t soon forget; quite a few windows were broken and people shaken up a bit, but nobody was killed.

Needless to say, the Mirage was quickly impounded and the crew taken into custody by the local army regiment until specialists from Klagenfurt could arrive to inspect the wreckage and interrogate the crew.

Accolades and Reunions:

The crew were questioned at length as to exactly why and how they had crossed into East Austrian territory despite the fact that it had been obvious to the wreckage inspectors from the very moment they arrived at the crash site that an ingested bird had brought the plane down. The blood and feathers plastered to the fuselage side just ahead of the intake, in conjunction with the burned out engine, told them everything they needed to know to be able to quickly dismiss any notion that in was an intentional crossing by the crew.

The news was a buzz on both side of the Linz Line over the matter. Speculation was rampant in spite of the fact that investigators considered the case an open and shut accident. While views differed here and there, media outlets were unanimous in praising the pilot’s flying skills. The mayor of Linz even thanked the crew personally for safeguarding the citizens by staying with the aircraft.

When the crew told the mayor that they both had family in or near Linz that they would like to meet with, the mayor used his influence to grant them a few hours of visiting time as further thanks.

The pilot was quickly acquainted with his uncle, aunt and cousin who lived in the north part of the city. He had only known this part of his family from photographs and letters as his parents had left Linz for points west in 1946, before he was born.

The navigator had an aunt and a cousin who were eager to come to Linz from Amstetten to meet with him. As with the pilot, this was the first time the navigator had seen these members of his family in person.

It was an emotional day for all family members involved, many stories were told, lots of photos were taken, but the few hours that had been granted came to an end all too soon. With some tearful farewells, the two crewmen were taken to the small corner of the Linz airport that belonged to the military until the transport aircraft from Graz arrived to fly them home.

Their flight home was uneventful. The LOVA Let 410 Turbolet was given clearance to take them as far as the OL base at Ebensee, where a Twin Otter was waiting to take them the rest of the way to Braunau.

Mirage IV O, the Controversy Continues:

While the pilot and navigator were safely back home, their aircraft was in for a longer stay in the east. As was standard practice, the east offered to return the wreckage. As was also standard practice, the west declined the offer; writing the aircraft off as a loss.

The Mirage was moved from Linz to Klagenfurt for deeper analysis. The aircraft was largely intact, but certainly not fit for flying again.

Both Soviet and East Austrian military intelligence were aware that this particular variant of the Mirage IV had all of its nuclear weapon carrying abilities designed out of it to make it capable of only conventional bomb hauling.

They were taken very much by surprise during the dissection of the aircraft, when they found that all of the internal airframe structures to accommodate the semi recessed stand off weapon that the French version was known to carry were largely intact in the IV O and, by initial appearances, likely recoverable to give the IV O the ability to carry such weapons itself.

The accusations against West Austria for concealing a nuclear ability in their Mirage IV fleet came quickly and furiously; accusations against France for enabling such a situation were also flying. Harsh questions were not only coming from the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact at large, but also from the highest levels of NATO.

France and West Austria countered the accusations and questions by claiming that the IV O had been built primarily to haul conventional bombs, with a secondary purpose as a tactical reconnaissance platform and that the ability to recover the recess in the aircraft’s belly was so that a camera pod could be fitted. They went further to say that only a few machines in the OL Mirage IV fleet could be fitted with a camera pod.

The explanations were met with staunch scepticism and West Austria was ordered to make its Mirage IV fleet available for inspection by a delegation of NATO and Warsaw Pact experts immediately. The presence of representatives from the OL procurements division and Dassault were also requested at the inspection.

The delegation and representatives gathered at Braunau on a rainy day in late June 1976. Most of the OL Mirage IV fleet was neatly lined up on the tarmac outdoors, while two more were in hangars with a variety of access panels opened up for deeper scrutiny. Additionally, two Mirage IV of the French standard were flown in specifically for close comparisons between their standard belly recess and the recoverable one in the OL variant.

The camera pod was also available for inspection, not to mention proof that it actually existed.

The day culminated with a demonstration of what would be required to refit an OL Mirage with the camera pod. The process took about three and a half hours. Most inspectors agreed that such a time interval wasn’t really practical if a nuclear capability was needed quickly. That fact, in conjunction with the generous amount of Mirage IV O specific information that the Dassault representatives provided did seem enough to, for the time being, satisfy the inspectors that nuclear ability in the IV O, however much it may or may not have, was highly unlikely and would be ridiculously impractical to install into it if it were possible.

Rolling Heads and a Stay of Execution:

With the smoke clearing over the latest Mirage IV O debacle, hard decisions were being made in the higher echelons of both the West Austrian Defence Ministry and NATO.

The head of OL procurements was very swiftly relieved of his position and found himself facing legal charges revolving around hiding the ability of the Mirage IV O to be a photographic platform from NATO and other allies.

Heads were also rolling at Dassault, where the head of the Mirage IV O program was sacked for preserving the recessed belly on any of the IV O line when it was never authorised to be so.

A very complex network of under the table deals and bribes were found involving the now former head of OL procurements, former head of the Mirage IV O program at Dassault and the man who had been the West Austrian Defence Minister at the time the Mirage IV O deal was formalised. That minister was still in the government, but had been given the Minister of Energy and Resources portfolio not long after the Mirage IV entered OL service.

Ultimately, there was enough evidence to arrest the minister and charge him with several counts of fraud and bribery. He was to spend the next several years under house arrest.

The future of the Mirage IV in OL service was very much in doubt. The machine had been controversial from the beginning and NATO saw this latest controversy as a tremendous embarrassment and some were moving to have the aircraft removed from OL service immediately in favour of having the RAF handle strike duties in West Austria. The Sepecat Jaguars that had recently replaced the Buccaneers, were seen as perfectly capable, and much less controversial.

The West Austrian Parliament itself was torn on the issue. Some saw the retention of the Mirage IV as an essential sign of the nation’s ability to defend itself, while others felt the continuing controversies surrounding the type, from both inside and outside the country, simply made having the aircraft more trouble than it was worth.

In September of 1976, NATO issued a strong recommendation to West Austria to either seek out a replacement for the Mirage IV or hand over strike duties in West Austria to the RAF and phase the type out of service by the end of the decade.

While it was not an order in any official sense, it might as well have been one. NATO had clearly had its fill of the Mirage IV O and the political problems that it tended to cause.

The aircraft had time, but not much. January 1, 1980 was the agreed upon deadline for it’s withdrawal from OL service. A replacement aircraft type was seen as preferable to handing the strike mission over to foreign hands, as friendly as those hands might be.

[upnorth]

Shifts in the East:

Just as the western “Twin” had seen the 70s in with base and equipment shifts, the east was also getting it’s share.

Most notably, the T-72 MBT had finally arrived and the last T-62s had been put out to pasture to the delight of many a tanker in the army. The bulk of the T-62s were put out on the range at Obergrafendorf for the TSTE to use as MiG-15, Su-7 and now Su-17 fodder.

The Su-7 was entering it’s last years in LOVA service and the first Su-17 arrived at Obergrafendorf in mid 1972. The bases at Bad Leonfelden and Ferlach were both being prepared for the arrival of their Su-17s and were fully ready by early 1973. 1975 would mark the very last LOVA Su-7 flight.

Another type to leave LOVA service were the Mi-4 Hound helicopters, the last one retired in 1973 after adequate numbers of Mi-8 Hip aircraft had been taken on. All Mi-4s were scrapped as the airframes had largely hit their maximum allowable flight hours.

Training aircraft were getting perhaps the biggest shakeup of all. By 1971, the Zlin 526 had been totally replaced by the Zlin Z-42 in the basic trainer role. The L-29 would soldier on for a while into the late 70s, but the L-39 Albatros started replacing it in 1973.

The arrival of the L-39 Albatros also signaled the impending end of MiG-15 service in LOVA. With the arrival of the Albatros, many L-29 Delfins were transferred to base and unit hack work to replace the MiG-15s doing such utility work. With the introduction of the weapons capable L-39Z in the late 1970s, the last LOVA MiG-15 flight occurred in late 1978.

Rotors Over Linz:

The smallest LOVA base by any measure was at Linz. A small corner of a civil airfield housing a handful of Mi-2 Hoplites fitted out for search and rescue work. To many, it seemed impractical to keep such a small backwater of a base operational and many moved that it should be closed in favour of a fully civil airport. The arrival of the Mi-8 Hip changed all that.

Initially the majority of the Mi-8 fleet started by being based at the army garrison at Wolfsberg, just as the Mi-4 had been. However, there wasn’t really enough room at the garrison for all the Hips and the army was unwilling to give more room to aircraft at the base.

There was no specific helicopter base within LOVA at that time; the Mi-2s were scattered at based around the country, rotary wing aviation had been very decentralized in LOVA to that point in time. A decision was made to create a central helicopter base and command centre and Linz would be it. Work began on an expansion to the Linz airport to house the helicopters.

The Mi-8s that would not fit at Wolfsberg, along with the resident Linz Mi-2s, found a temporary home at Obergrafendorf. MiG-21 training was drawing down in anticipation of the MiG-23 entering service in 1976 and so enough space was available at that base for the helicopters until the expansion at Linz could be completed in late 1975.

Banished Blinders:

Soviet operations at Klosterneuburg ceased in 1975 and with them so did the presence of the much maligned, at least to the Austrians and NATO, Tu-22 Blinder aircraft in Austrian skies.
The base was officially handed over to the Austrians and was temporarily closed for refitting as a storage depot for retired LOVA aircraft awaiting scrapping or sale. LOVA had a large number of Su-7s that they needed to keep somewhere and anticipated a similar situation with MiG-21s before the 70s were out.

The Blinders were transferred to Cyprus. The island had, between the Soviets, Greek and Turkish militaries; been largely transformed into a fortress like place with one half of the island housing a huge military airport and the other half and equally large naval harbour.

Traditionally, the airbase section of Cyprus was a transport hub. However, tensions were rising in Israel again and the Soviets felt a dedicated surveillance regiment closer to that country was essential. With the Soviets tiring of the constant protests against the Tu-22 in Austria, they took the opportunity to permanently reassign that regiment to Cyprus.

Needless to say, there were no broken hearts among the Austrians when the last Blinder left Klosterneuburg.

Sibling Rivalry:

Just like any other siblings, the two Austrias were not immune to the temptation of trying to one up and outdo each other in certain ways.

In light of the OL forming an air demonstration team, LOVA decided to follow suit and create one for itself.

Initially, the intent was to use the new L-39 Albatros trainer for a jet based team. However, the L-39 was seen as too valuable for such “frivolous” uses. The L-29 was also seen as too valuable.

LOVA did eventually find a mount for it’s display team in a most unexpected form; the Mi-2 Hoplite. The team existed from 1975 to 1980 and built a solid reputation for itself as an original and entertaining team at air shows across the Warsaw Pact countries. Their popularity resulted in official invitations to the Paris and Farnborough air shows in the late 70s.

The disbandment of the team was a very sudden move. The pilots were all very experienced and their flying skills were required for an emergency deployment to Israel.

[upnorth]

Moving on the Mirage:

Feeling the bite and pressure to find a replacement for their Mirage IV O aircraft, West Austria was weighing the options carefully.

The technology sector of the West Austrian economy was still highly respected and the avionics they had developed for the F-104S and the Mirage IV O were used as bargaining chips to get the country’s foot in the door of the multi national MRCA program, which would come to life as the Panavia Tornado.

However, West Austria would not be a majority partner in the program, so there was only a guarantee that they would get Tornados; there was no guarantee of when they would get them. The nation’s need for a strike aircraft was immediate enough that they couldn’t put all their eggs in the Tornado basket.

Salvaging the Next Step:

A mid life upgrade program was in the works for the Mirage IV O when the order to replace it came down.

The program was a sweeping avionics upgrade, which included a new generation of TFR that was completely developed domestically. The upgrade also included a state of the art laser targeting system. To cancel the upgrade program would have made the loss of the Mirage IV O felt that much more deeply, something had to be kept.

The systems being developed were designed to fit into a large aircraft of the Mirage IV’s size, but the OL had no other combat aircraft of that size. Knowing that the Panavia Tornado was likely less than a decade away from entering service, nobody was keen on spending money on fresh airframes to replace the Mirage IV.

Eventually, the system was scaled back somewhat in complexity so that it could be made to fit into the Mirage F.1s that the OL had purchased to fly air cover for the Mirage IVs. Without the Mirage IV, the Mirage F.1’s seldom used strike abilities would keep it relevant in OL service.

A Bridge of Imperfection:

The first fully refitted Mirage F.1 flew in early 1978. The handling of the aircraft was good, but the strike systems were a handful for the single crewmember. They truly had been made with a two man crew in mind.

After the first one or two TFR practice runs through the Tyrolean Alps proved utterly harrowing even for the seasoned test pilots, the aircraft were taken back into the hangar for more testing and evaluation.

The system was simplified yet further, to the point where several of the advantages it would have given to the Mirage IV were sacrificed so as to keep the workload reasonable for the single crewman of the much smaller Mirage F.1.

After another six months of testing, they had a workable strike aircraft in the F.1 that did not overwhelm the pilot. The order was put forth to convert the entire OL F.1 fleet to the new strike variant immediately and commence training so that the Mirage IV could be retired by the January 1980 deadline.

Memories of Mayrhofen:

In 1978, Mayrhofen was the oldest OL base with a proud tradition of turning out well rounded pilots for the OL; that all came to an end in 1978 when it was announced that a base would be closed.

The deliberations over which base to close were heated; it came down to Mayrhofen, Hallein or Ebensee.

Both Hallein and Ebensee had some growth and development potential that Mayrhofen lacked. The town of Mayrhofen had grown to nearly surround the base and that was not an ideal situation for any military installation, particularly one focused on training.

Mayrhofen had been opened by the RCAF and used to train the first OL pilots on ground attack techniques using Mustangs and Vampires; it’s runways had seen Chipmunks, Harvards, Provosts and T-33s all prior to the SF.260s and MB.326s that called it home in 1978.

The training academy was moved to the increasingly quiet Braunau. Mirage IV sorties were growing few and far between and part of the base was already being converted to a storage facility for when that aircraft was ultimately retired.

Braunau and the largely quiet northern reaches of West Austria were a particularly welcome change for the pilots of the OL display team; the move gave them much more room to develop and practice routines than Mayrhofen ever did.

Heavy Lift Solution:

Lacking a heavy lift helicopter component following the return of Super Frelons to France, the OL proposed a solution that was much bigger than West Austria alone. A solution scoffed at by some, championed by others and a very daunting idea to even entertain making a reality. It did become a reality and went by the acronym: H.E.L.L.E.N

Heavy Lift and Logistical Engineering Network

The concept was a common network of heavy lift helicopters under direct NATO command. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook was chosen as the core machine and a fleet of them were distributed throughout the European NATO nations that chose to take part in the program.

Three main bases were established: Madrid, Spain; Eindhoven, Netherlands and Naples, Italy. From these three points, the helicopters were deployed to cover Three geographic zones:

Western Zone (HQ Madrid): Portugal and Spain
Southern Zone (HQ Naples): Italy and West Austria
Northern Zone (HQ Eindhoven): Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark

The aircraft had mixed crews from all participating nations and carried standard NATO markings in place of any specific national markings.

HELLEN was formally established in 1975, with HQ at Naples. Beyond the three main bases, which also served as main service depots for the regional fleets, each participating nation had a smaller base to serve districts inside the main three regions.

The division at Naples were tasked with central and southern Italy; a smaller division at Venice was tasked with northern Italy up to the Dolomites; the West Austrian division, at Landeck, was tasked with all of West Austria and the alpine region that made up the Italian border including the Dolomites.

HELLEN also consisted of EOTP (Environmental Operational Training Program) in which crews from the participating nations would be assigned to a train in one of the other countries to become familiar with operating in different environmental and climactic conditions than they would find in their own lands.

This resulted in Danish personnel learning operations in hot and arid regions in central Spain and Spanish personnel learning operations in the hostile and unpredictable environs of the North Sea and Baltic.

EOTP did much to bolster the image and credibility of the West Austrian armed services and show the rest of NATO at large how capable they actually were. The country's unpredictable equipment procurement habits that had resulted in a mixed bag of gear had often been a cause for concern among some in NATO. West Austria’s exemplary performance in joint operations put such concerns quite soundly to rest.

The Austrians were in charge of EOTP training in the alpine environment, which was considered one of the most challenging and nerve wracking training environments outside of the North Sea and Baltic environs trained for in Denmark.

Germany, Britain and Norway had all held out on joining HELLEN. Norway was simply sceptical of the idea from the outset; Britain was also initially sceptical of the idea, but became an associate member in 1978; Germany, with it's CH-53 already firmly filling it's own heavy lift requirements, simply saw no reason to join the program.

As with Britain, Canada became an associate member in 1978. Being associate members, British and Canadian aircraft were retained in their respective national markings and units were not under direct NATO command.

Britain made good use of EOTP to build a well trained body of Chinook air and ground crew to man the RAF Chinooks that were on order at the time.

Canada formally established an EOTP depot at CFB Edmonton in late 1978. The primary advantages of Canada joining the program were that the European program members gained valuable access to additional operating environs, including Arctic operations. They also gained access to less congested airspace and larger dedicated training areas than they would have in Europe.

Lightening the Load:

While EOTP was paying dividends that nobody involved could deny, H.E.L.L.E.N. itself was a near nightmare in command and administrative contexts. Eventually, in early 1980, H.E.L.L.E.N. was dissolved. EOTP, however, was kept intact and regularly developed for several more years.

The Chinook fleet was distributed and all aircraft were repainted with their respective user’s national markings. Aircraft optimised for EOTP carried a special badge, usually on the nose, to identify them as such.

Ultimately, OL found itself with a fleet of ten Chinooks. Six were standard heavy lift machines based at Landeck while the other four were EOTP alpine optimised trainers flying from Hallein.


 

[upnorth]

Boeing TH-47 Fohn
EOTP alpine optimised variant


This particular machine is shown in an early 1980s post H.E.L.L.E.N. scheme.

While the EOTP alpine training was headquartered at Hallein, it was not unusual to see one of their machines on temporary rotation to Landeck to periodically test the regular crews there.

[elmayerle]

A truly fascinating and plausible history.  I'm surprised that the Italian package didn't include some MB.326C trainers for the Starfighter (not built in RL, but a very suitable way to get equipment training in flight without having to worry so much about the aircraft).  You've got some beautiful art to go with the story, too.

[upnorth]

Thanks!

I think the exact mark of MB.326 wasn't that crucial as a lot of West Austrian technology was integrated into both the 326 and F-104. They could have them as they wanted them, that kind of flexibility was the key attraction of the Italian deal.

As for the art, I can't thank Apophenia enough for that generosity, all of the profiles are by him. I don't think my current computer can handle Photoshop and my skills in that program are probably seriously rusty anyway.

[upnorth]

Emissary to Ebensee:

Early 1980 saw an unusual and unexpected guest at Ebensee, an Israeli MiG-21.

The aircraft had been visiting Obergrafendorf and was slated to carry on to Steyr. However, the pilot crossed in to West Austrian territory instead.

As West Austria and Israel carried on peaceable relations with each other and Israeli citizens could enter and leave West Austria with only a passport and visa; there were many questions regarding why the young pilot opted to enter the country in such an unnecessarily risky fashion as he did.

The answer came soon enough after the pilot requested asylum.

Israel: Recipe for Implosion:

The young Israeli MiG-21 pilot was taken to Salzburg shortly after arriving at Ebensee and requesting asylum.

His explanation for coming to West Austria in the way that he did was that Israel was growing more divisive and the military was destabilizing and polarizing. On the surface, the Israeli military looked like the harmonious, ethnically integrated body that the Israeli government wanted to show to the world. However, Kibbutz groomed Semitic officers occupied the upper echelons of power exclusively. There was a glass ceiling against anyone of non Semitic heritage entering the senior officer ranks in the Israeli armed forces and it was clear to anyone familiar with the inner workings of the service.

The young pilot was from the northern reaches of Israel and had significant Lebanese heritage, as such, he new that his chances of ever becoming more than the Lieutenant that he was were slim indeed.

He revealed that his choice to use his MiG for travelling to West Austria was also to do with his heritage. While he could get a passport with relative ease, his movements were closely monitored owing to the fact that he hailed from one of the more hotly contested areas of Israel. For him to get a normal air ticket for a civil flight out of Israel for personal travel reasons would have been a very difficult task bureaucratically.

He had been increasingly pressured to take one side or the other in the polarization of the Israeli armed forces, the longer he held out on doing so, the more difficult his life became. He’d had enough when direct threats against his life started being made if he didn’t take a side.

He knew that he was scheduled for a rotation to East Austria, so he took that as his most likely opportunity to flee his homeland.

He made mention that there was a growing movement of nationalism among young people in Israel and many were embracing the old idea that having ties with Austria of any sort was “Treasonous”, as Austria had aligned with Germany in WWII. He went further to say that there was a growing underground nationalist movement with plans to make life very difficult for any Austrian citizen inside Israel’s borders.

The young man’s application for asylum was put under consideration. However, there was a considerable degree of scepticism levelled at his claims of how unstable Israel really was. In spite of Israel’s open Socialism friendly stance, it was still a self-determining nation that was free to seek out business with parts of the world not under Socialism’s grasp.

West Austria and Israel had built a mutually prosperous technology based trade agreement in the civil sector. Surely, if there was such deep unrest in Israel, the West Austrian citizens working and living there would have seen and reported it to those back home. Surely the West Austrian journalists in the country would have reported on it. Surely, something would have been seen by now.

Scepticism Shattered:

One late May morning, shortly after 10:00 a.m., a huge explosion gutted the East Austrian Embassy and shook Jerusalem.

The carnage in the street in front of what was left of the embassy was beyond most imagining. The explosion took place mid morning on a working day. The road in front of the embassy was full of the usual motor and pedestrian traffic when the roaring cloud of glass, steel, stone and other debris sheared across it and did significant damage to a five star hotel on the opposite side of the road.

There were relatively few injuries. People in the immediate vicinity were either dead or simply stunned and shaken by the experience.

A solitary file clerk was the only surviving embassy employee, her injuries were extensive and doctors performed drastic emergency surgery to save her. She died on the operating table, and any chance to know what precisely was going on in the embassy that morning died with her.

In the days following, an incredulous world tried to absorb the near surreal imagery of Jerusalem that was coming at them fast and furious through all media outlets.

Though the act had been committed against the East Austrian embassy, any scepticism that West Austria had regarding the Israeli pilot’s story about life becoming difficult for Austrians in his country quickly evaporated. His asylum was granted shortly after the attack.

West Austria very quickly put out an advisory for all of its citizens to evacuate Israel at once and was standing by to shut down its embassy in Jerusalem. After an emergency meeting with the Israeli vice president, the West Austrian Ambassador was left convinced that, whoever was holding the reins of power in that country, it wasn’t the government. The West Austrian embassy was promptly shut down.

The Devil in the Dust:

Jerusalem, and all of Israel, was still reeling from the embassy explosion. Investigators had found evidence of explosive devices in the remains of the building and questions of how they got there and who was responsible were mounting. Austria, both east and west, and the rest of the world at large wanted answers.

In early June, a new image of Israel greeted the world. The top general of the Israeli armed forces claiming power over the small nation on Israeli state television; the image switched back and forth between the general and the dead bodies of the president, the president’s wife and other members of the overthrown government in a mass grave prepared for crude burial.

The next images were of a group of obviously beaten young men and women in military custody, the voice of the general claiming that they had been the ones responsible for the embassy bombing and that the incompetence of the government he had just overthrown was the sole reason that they were able to carry out the act at all.

In a scant two week period, Israel had gone from being a free state to being under the boot heel of a military dictatorship. Things would only get worse for the nation.

Sanctions and Mobilizations:

Almost at once, the world at large condemned the general and the military state he had turned Israel into.

The general was very right wing in his leanings and had little time for notions of an ethnically integrated Israel. “Israel for the Israelites” was his personal motto and he lived and breathed it.

Any member of the military that was from an ethnic minority found themselves stripped of rank and discharged from service. They also found themselves barred from higher education facilities and meaningful work.

Sanctions against the general’s Israel came hard and fast. Many countries severed diplomatic ties outright.

East Austria and the Warsaw Pact weren’t satisfied with sanctions though. Enough Israeli military personnel that had been training in the Warsaw Pact countries at the time of the bombing came forward seeking asylum and claiming that the general himself was most likely behind the bombing, that only the fall of the general himself would satisfy Vienna and Moscow.

Retribution would be the order of the day.

[upnorth]

Operation Anvil:

Both Austrias responded militarily to the Israeli situation. West Austria was already active in the region as part of the UN peace keeping operations in the Sinai, operating both Buffalo transports and Puma helicopters. Thanks to the EOTP that was part of the now defunct HELLEN program, Chinooks with crews well versed in desert type operating regions joined the Buffalos and Pumas.

The Buffalos and Pumas remained stationed in the Sinai while the Chinooks were stationed in Jordan. The main duty of West Austrian forces in Operation Anvil, as the UN officially called it, was to observe and protect Israel’s borders with the Sinai and southern Jordan. Jordan had requested UN assistance in securing its borders so it could dedicate more of its own troops to the northern border with Socialist friendly Syria; where Warsaw Pact forces were accumulating rapidly in apparent preparation to cross into Israel and subdue the dictatorial regime by force.

West Austria’s Chinooks in the region were in standard UN overall white with black titles and the blue UN insignia. They had no special markings on them to identify them as specifically West Austrian; however, the harsh desert environment did take a quick toll on the white paint and the aircraft took on a decidedly patchy appearance not long after arriving. Soon enough, the distinctive OL alpine splinter camouflage was showing through despite frequent touch ups and it wasn’t difficult to tell whom the machines belonged to.

By contrast, the OL Buffalos and Pumas always looked very near immaculate in finish. It was very rare indeed to see them looking worn at all. This was because the paint used on them was a very hardwearing, high gloss sort that was applied properly and methodically prior to deployment. The Chinooks, on the other hand, had been quickly sprayed in a flat, alkali coating that wasn’t meant for long wear, but was easily available and applicable in the field.

Operation Constrictor:

The Warsaw Pact side of the Israeli matter went into the history books as Operation Constrictor; an appropriate title given the situation Israel found itself in.

The Soviet Union was already very busy in it’s battle with Afghanistan. As it had been the East Austrian embassy that was attacked, Moscow placed primary command of the operation with the Austrians. Direct Soviet involvement with Operation Constrictor was quite limited overall. The combined East Austrian, Greek, Turkish and Syrian forces were seen as more than enough to effectively take care of the situation.

Facing an impassable Greek and Turkish naval blockade off it’s coast and constant over flights of Warsaw Pact reconnaissance aircraft; Israel’s internal strife was contained while an international ultimatum was placed on the general to step down willingly or be removed by force.

As expected, the ultimatum was greeted with silence.

The Warsaw Pact forces prepared to take stronger measures.

Free Israeli Regiments:

Inside the Warsaw Pact force were full regiments of Israeli officers and enlisted from all branches of service that had requested asylum in the countries they were training or operating in at the time the general took power. Many were young and agreed with the ideals of a modern integrated Israel for everyone; needless to say, many more in the Israeli Free Regiments were from ethnic minority backgrounds and knew they had no place in an Israeli military under the general’s watch.

The Warsaw Pact wanted retribution, the UN wanted stability and the Free Regiments wanted their homeland back and their families safe.

Whatever their reasons for deploying to the region, if East and West could agree to nothing else in the midst of the Cold War; they could agree that the general had to go.

Standing Apart from the Competition:

An obvious concern to the Warsaw Pact forces was how to differentiate their equipment from Israeli equipment should combat break out. Israel used all the same equipment; some marking scheme had to be devised quickly to avoid confusion and friendly fire incidents.

A white/red/white diagonal band around the forward fuselage running from just ahead of the cockpit backward to a point under the cockpit was agreed upon for fast jets.

Helicopters had the diagonal fuselage band running from the engine intakes fully around the mid fuselage.

Transports had the fuselage banding starting at the bottom sills of the rearmost cockpit windows and frequently had the bands repeated on the engine nacelles.

Ground vehicles also received variations on the banding.

Most tanks got a band running from the top front corner to the bottom rear corner of one section of skirting on each side as well as painted across the top of the engine section to be recognizable to aircraft.

Naval vessels received no such markings, as size was enough to tell who was who. The Israeli navy had nothing to match the size of what the Greeks and Turks were putting off their coast as a blockade.

The Israeli Free Regiments operated machinery in the markings of whichever Warsaw Pact state they had been given asylum in. They were not permitted to differentiate themselves in anyway from the overall force.

Securing the North:

Neighboring Lebanon had been mired down in it’s own civil war since 1975 and nobody knew what to expect of that nation in light of the current Israeli crisis, securing the border between the two countries was seen as a vital priority.

The border was patrolled constantly on foot and from the air with the aim of cutting off any possible escape route to the north for the general.

Operation Constrictor certainly seemed to be living up to its name.

A Hornet Nest Abuzz:

Military mobilizations inside as well as outside Israel were plainly evident.

The Israeli aircraft had an orange band following the leading edge of their vertical stabilizers and running around the fuselage at an angle. Several aircraft were seen to have the leading edges of their wings and horizontal stabilizers painted the same orange colour.
 
Day and night, there was always movement of some sort in the air, on the ground and at sea. Like the country itself, everything was in flux all the time. Nobody knew what was coming next.





 

[upnorth]

Deep Deceptions:

In the middle of the night, in late July 1980, a Soviet built Kara class cruiser of the Hellenic Socialist Republic Fleet at the southern terminus of its patrol route was rocked by an explosion in the water not far from it’s five o’clock position. The crew, already tense from the growing unease across the eastern Mediterranean caused by the Israeli situation, snapped to an even higher level of alertness.

The ship had just come full about for the homebound leg of its patrol and was on a course for it’s home harbour in Souda Bay, Crete. Amidst the frenzy of activity the bridge, radar room and communications centre aboard the ship had become in the brief time since the blast, the ship was shaken by a second blast. This second blast impacted the ship’s stern causing significant damage to the aft structures and destroying the ship’s propellers. She was dead in the water. Her attacker didn’t make her wait long for the deathblow. A third explosion, dead amidships was enough to breach her hull and send her into an unrecoverable list.

As the surviving crew abandoned ship and waited for help, their attacker slipped off silently into the early morning blackness.

The crew were rescued by Egyptian navy ships and helicopters and returned to Crete in due course. Recovering from the shock of being attacked and seeing their ship sunk, most of the crew were utterly baffled and stunned at how their cruiser could have been taken so completely by surprise. The Kara class was one of the most advanced ships in the Hellenic Fleet and had just been refitted with a significant radar and sensor suite upgrade. Nothing known to ply the Mediterranean regularly at that time should have been able to take her by surprise like that.

With Impunity, Almost:

By the end of August, while sabres were rattling on the mainland, but no real combat had started in earnest; two frigates, one Greek and one Turk, had been sunk in similar sneak attacks to the Kara incident. Their attacker had left them with just as little evidence as to its origin as it left the crew of the Kara.

It was clear that it was a submarine at work, but suspicion wasn’t immediately on Israel’s navy. They were known to have Yankee class submarines; however, the Yankee class could be detected in various ways, the submarine doing the damage seemed to give no hint to it’s presence at all.

Airborne ASW patrols were stepped up significantly in order to track down the culprit. Turkish and Greek navy Ilyushin Il-38 “May” patrol aircraft flew around the clock over the region. Nothing seemed safe on the surface of the water, if the attacker was to be found, it would have to be found from the air.

Israeli MiG-21s and MiG-23s constantly shadowed the patrol aircraft during their sorties; though, the Hellenic and Turkish MiG-21s and MiG-23s that watched over the Ilyushins were more than enough to keep the Israeli MiGs at a respectable distance.

In late September, a Turkish Ilyushin caught sight of an Egyptian frigate coming under attack and vectored surface ships into the area. While Egypt had taken an officially non-combatant stance on the current Israel matter, as a Socialist friendly nation, Turkey was under some degree of obligation to assist the beleaguered Egyptian vessel.

With surface ships on their way, the Ilyushin’s crew set and intercept course. The submarine was all but impossible to locate with the aircraft’s sensor suite; the ship had clearly been fitted with ECM and jamming gear above that found in a standard Yankee class ship.

In an attempt to at least hinder the submarine, if not damage it to the point it would have to surface; a rough estimate was made of the submarine’s location based on the location of the explosions. The aircraft released a series of depth charges and the submarine’s attack stopped promptly. However, the ship did not surface and no signs of debris, oil or anything else to indicate it might have been destroyed were seen.

The Egyptian ship slowly returned to its homeport while the Ilyushin turned home to Turkey after being relieved by a Greek one.

Breaking it Wide Open:

During the hunt for the mystery submarine, most military action on the mainland had been limited to posturing. A few warning shots were fired here and there but it largely seemed a standoff. Until one late October morning when four sites along the Israeli coast were hammered by a volley of AS-4 “Kitchen” missiles launched from a squadron of Cyprus based Soviet navy Tu-22 Blinders.

While the missiles used in the attacks had conventional warheads, the resulting damage was staggering. The targeted areas seemed to be, to the casual observer and the world at large, completely chosen at random.

The Soviets defended their attacks by claiming that the areas they had attacked were underground submarine bunkers that they themselves had helped to construct. While they conceded that there was still no concrete proof that the marauding submarine was Israeli; they did claim to have, through accounts of more than a few Israeli sailors in asylum that at least one Yankee class submarine had been extensively modified and refitted for attack missions and another was in the process of refitting.

The Soviets took such accounts as ample evidence to justify destroying the submarine bunkers. If it was indeed an Israeli submarine, it was either now dead in its hole or would not be able to go home again.

The submarine, as it turned out, was away from home at the time of the attacks, still in a position to cause trouble.

The General Replies:

The general, who had stayed relatively quiet and kept a fairly low profile, returned to broadcast to the Israelis on state television. He vociferously denounced the coastal attacks and the Soviet Union as being the killers of thousands of innocent civilians. Further, he outright denied to the world that Israel had any underground submarine bunkers and insisted adamantly that the Soviets were simply spoiling for a fight. He vowed to give them one.

In early November, The Israeli army launched a salvo of Scud C missiles at the fortifications of Cyprus. The anti-missile systems based on the island destroyed most of the missiles; though three missiles made impact and did considerable damage to the tarmac and flight line areas of the air base on the island and destroyed two moored ships and several buildings on the naval base side. Thankfully, the warheads had been conventional.

While crews hastily worked on repairs to the bases on Cyprus, Turkish and Greek ships moved into position to mount a retaliatory coastal attack on Israel, with the port city of Haifa as their primary target.

Hitting Home:

As residents of Vienna were heading home from work the day after the Cyprus attack, many talking about it with each other on their commute, people started suddenly collapsing in one of the city’s major underground stations.

Emergency crews quickly set upon the station and sealed it, but over 100 people had fallen victim to toxic gas that had found its way into the tunnels. The ensuing investigation revealed conclusive proof that it had not been an accident, but an intentional attack.

As the city was still absorbing the shock, local authorities and media received messages claiming to be from the group responsible, they claimed to be sympathetic to the General and his ideals for Israel.

The city erupted in rage, accusations were leveled and denied, the former Israeli ambassador who had been loyal to the overthrown government was now living in exile in Vienna. When asked about the event and the possible connection to the general, he stated firmly that the general was very well connected internationally and very possibly could have the connections for such an attack to be carried out successfully.

It was enough for the East Austrian president and minister of defense to send the order to the commander of the Warsaw Pact forces waiting in Syria to cross into Israeli territory fully armed an in earnest.

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Back Home:

As the Warsaw Pact and free Israeli regiments drove across the Syrian border into Israel, a great deal of unease was gripping not only the East Austrians, who were still absorbing and recovering from the Vienna gas attack, but also any Warsaw Pact nation that had given safe haven to Israelis who were loyal to the fallen government.

On an everyday basis, life went on; however, a slight but noticeable air of distrust and suspicion had taken grip of many people in those lands. The asylum seeking Israelis had been welcomed with open arms, but now many shops the Israelis frequented became targets for vandalism.

Police presence in many cities was stepped up to prevent matters from escalating into violent demonstrations. Military Mi-17 helicopters, often with door guns, became a frequent sight over areas known to have higher incidences of anti Israeli vandalism.

The East Austrian air force was still training Israeli pilots and aircrew. The only difference was that now it was training and helping to organize the free Israeli regiments rather than the regular Israeli military.

The Changing face of LOVA:

While many of the Su-17s and MiG-21s of LOVA were deployed to Syria, the fleet of MiG-23s was keeping the skies at home safe.

The LOVA MiG-23 differed slightly from a standard Soviet built one in antenna fit. The well-known “ODD rods” type IFF antenna so typical to Soviet aircraft of the time was absent from LOVA machines in favour of a domestically produced IFF system.

Additionally, the LOVA Floggers featured an IRST ball just ahead of the cockpit on top of the aircraft’s nose in place of the more typical Soviet IR targeting system on the underside of the nose.

While the IR targeting system introduced on the Steyr St-150 was absent from LOVA St-190s and MiG-21s, the system had been quietly developed and vastly improved at Klagenfurt in the years between the Bolzen and MiG-23. It was considered generally superior to its Soviet counterpart system.

Zeltweg was the home of the LOVA MiG-23s. The MiG-21s that had been there were initially sent to Klosterneuburg before either being put in storage there or handed over to the free Israeli regiments that had been given the active portion of that base to operate from.

The base at Obergrafendorf and its associated ranges were busier than usual with all the extra strike training being carried out by Su-17s and MiG-21s.

Linz was also getting very busy. Civil flying operations had come to a virtual standstill around Linz in order to accommodate the Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters that had entered LOVA service in the early 1980s.

Preparations were being made at Bad Leonfelden for the arrival of the first LOVA Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot, scheduled for early 1982.

New Toys for the OL:

Just as the early 1980s saw LOVA take on new gear, the story was similar for West Austria’s OL.

The development of West Austria’s technology sector, particularly the avionics branch of it, was paying great dividends to the country. The avionics suite developed for the F-104S was of Austrian origins and made that variant of the F-104 one of the most potent western interceptors of it’s era. It also assured West Austria a place at Panavia’s table as a partner nation in the development of the Tornado.

West Austria cooperated largely with the Italian part of the Tornado program; however, the Austrian developed avionics figured prominently in all Tornado aircraft regardless of whose flag they operated under.

OL put priority on getting the IDS variant of the Tornado into service, though also planned to take the ADV variant on by the mid 80s.

The retirement of the Mirage IV O in 1980 left a large gap in OL strike abilities that the Mirage F.1 and MB.326 fleets couldn’t completely cover. The Tornado was a much welcomed sight when the first ones started arriving at Reid in 1981.

By the end of 1982, the Tornado was becoming an increasingly common sight to Austrians. The OL base at Reid had seen the last of its F-104s transferred to Bad Ischl and was a pure Tornado IDS base. At the same time, the RAF Zell Strike Wing was nearning completion of converting from Buccaneers to Tornados.

New Macchi for Old:

The Macchi 326 fleet was getting flown into the ground almost literally. A workhorse aircraft for advanced jet training, weapons delivery training, light strike and hack duties; the type was easily the most active in OL service and an easily recognised shape over West Austrian skies.

However, all the intensive flying took a toll and the fleet was grounded after a rash of accidents between late 1981 and early 1982. Investigations showed that all of the accidents were caused by structural failures of one sort or another brought on by high use. The aircraft had to go.

MB.326 activities were sharply curtailed until the replacement MB.339s could be delivered and made active in late 1982.

The very last OL MB.326 flight was at the beginning of the 1983 airshow season, when a mixed formation of MB.326 and MB.339 in the colours of the OL display team did a special flypast to open the 1983 Salzburg Air Festival.

The display team’s MB.326s were still relatively new compared to the rest of the OL’s fleet of the type and so had some saleable value. With the exception of one aircraft earmarked to become a gate guard at Braunau; the other nine were sold mostly to civilian warbird enthusiasts.

Starfighter Slowdown:

As the MB.326 breathed its last in OL colours, the F-104S was entering its twilight years in the service.

All Austrian F-104 operations were conglomerated at Bad Ischl from 1982 onwards. In anticipation of the arrival of the Tornado ADV in late 1983, the OL Starfighter fleet was going through a notable reduction in size. Higher time airframes were being put into storage at Braunau.

Canadian Starfighter activities were also drawing to a close. The first CAF unit with the new CF-18 Hornet had already arrived at CFB Lienz. The Last Canadian Starfighter would leave Austrian territory in late 1983.

Wake Up Call for the West:

In December of 1981, a lone Israeli L-39 Albatros jet trainer from the training academy at Beersheeba crossed the border into Jordan and landed unannounced at a small airbase just inside the border in the southern part of the country.

Base security surrounded the aircraft while it was still on the runway; the two occupants of the aircraft quickly opened the canopy and raised their arms to show they were not a threat.

The crew, two quite senior flight instructors, were taken for questioning while their aircraft was impounded and inspected. The pilots stated they were seeking asylum, nothing more or less than that.

Their aircraft was not such a simple matter. In passing, it was a standard L-39C by all appearances. In the cockpit, it was an entirely different matter. The cockpit was much more modern looking than what was expected of a training aircraft and much of the technology, including two largish CRT screen displays in each cockpit, looked to be more of western origins than anything known to come out of the Eastern Bloc.

As the cockpit was dismantled, many of the instruments bore signature features of West Austrian component design philosophies. Almost at once, a call was put through to the West Austrian Embassy in Amman and the defence attaché was dispatched to the base the next day.

All hell broke loose at the West Austrian parliament when the news reached Salzburg. The president and trade minister demanded a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador for immediate answers as to why West Austrian technology, or technology based on it, had found its way into military hardware. Diplomatic ties between Israel and West Austria were frail at the time and the fact that the ambassador could provide no satisfactory answer did nothing to improve matters on that front.

West Austria had provided a great deal of technical expertise to Israel through the 70s, but it was all for the intent of improving infrastructure and services. There was never any permission granted from West Austria for Israel to alter or adapt the technology for purposes other than what was directly stated in the trade contracts. Military applications certainly were not an element of the contracts.

With no satisfactory answers forthcoming, the West Austrian president summoned the minister of defence and the commanders of the armed forces for a closed-door meeting.

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The Tornados of OL


The upper aircraft is shown in mid 1980s standard OL camoflage. It bears the nose badging of aircraft used by OL to train Jordanian crews after Jordan purchased a fleet of the aircraft.

The lower aircraft is representative of the current appearance of OL Tornados. Overall grey became standard in the early 1990s after Operation Anvil had concluded.


Both aircraft show typical schemes of OL Tornados deployed to Israel during Operation Anvil.

The upper aircraft is typical of earlier deployments. The single colour camoflage was quickly applied alkali paint over standard camoflage that weathered quickly and heavily in the desert environment.

The lower aircraft is more representative of later deployments. While the camoflage was still painted over the standard scheme, the paint was somewhat harder wearing and applied with more care before deployment.

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Investigations and Insinuations:

While the West Austrian parliament deliberated over what precisely should be their next step, A C-130 with a specialist crew had been dispatched from Salzburg to Jordan in order to take a closer look at the L-39 and its cockpit avionics that were causing such a commotion.

What the investigators found was that the avionics and electronics that seemed to be of West Austrian origin in the L-39 extended much further into the aircraft than just the cockpit.

The C-130 had its cargo hold refitted as a mobile diagnostics laboratory. As such, the investigators were able to determine a good deal more about the true nature of the Israeli aircraft’s equipment fit than the defense attaché from Amman was able to determine.

The CRT screens and a large segment of the aircraft’s sensor suite were determined to have been modified from systems intended for civil police work and nearly identical to equipment seen in second hand West Austrian national police helicopters that had been given to the Israeli national police in the late 1970s. The software was not of West Austrian origin in the L-39, but the hardware most certainly was.

Upon closer inspection of the aircraft’s exterior, a blister type fairing was found just behind and to the left of the nose landing gear. The front of the blister was flat and had a blanking plate on it as if there had once been a window for some sort of optical system housed in it. The fairing was found to be empty after it was removed; however, there were some cables leading from the fuselage into the blister. A cursory inspection of the plugs on the ends of the cables led the inspectors to strongly suspect the device in the fairing had been a laser of some sort. The only laser technology West Austria had shared with Israel was medical lasers.

The results of the investigation were not wholly conclusive, but compelling enough that the investigators felt justified in carrying out their own interview with the crew that flew the L-39 to Jordan. As the two Israeli airmen were in holding in Amman, pending further investigation, interviewing them would be easy.

The men were interviewed separately and both initially told the West Austrian investigators the same story they had told the attaché; they were nothing more than senior instructor pilots looking for asylum.

Such a point of view from older, more senior, members of the Israeli military was unusual to say the least; they tended to be rather more conservative and old school in their thinking, voicing views of skepticism if not outright sarcasm at any notion of a “new Israel” of the sort the overthrown government had promoted. The typical asylum seeker was usually in their early thirties or younger; these two men were both only a few years short of 50.

The investigators pressed further with their questions; eventually the two men’s stories diverged substantially.

The Colonel who had actually piloted the aircraft into Jordan swore that there was nothing more to his story than a request for asylum, specifically in France. He broke down in tears during the “interview”, which was all but a full out interrogation at that point; he said there was nothing left in Israel for him.

His wife had been killed in the naval shelling of Haifa while she had been there visiting her family. Beyond his wife, the only family he had was his two sons who were living in Toulouse and neither of them had any intention of returning to Israel in its current state. He cared about nothing anymore other than keeping what was left of his family together.

He claimed no specific knowledge to how the Austrian based technology got into a military aircraft or exactly how widespread such technology might be in Israeli military hardware.

The second man, a Lieutenant Colonel, claimed to want asylum in Australia. He said that his fiancée was an Australian journalist who had been evacuated from Israel not long after hostilities broke out. He went further to say that most of his immediate family had left Israel in the late 1970s with no intentions of returning permanently; as such, he had no reason for staying.

As with the Colonel, he claimed no deep knowledge of the origin of the equipment in his aircraft.

The men were put back in holding while their stories were scrutinized.

Through the French Embassy in Amman, the Colonel’s sons were contacted and were able to confirm their father’s story. Their mother had indeed been killed in the Haifa bombardments and their father had made no secret to them of his growing disenchantment with the direction Israel was going in.

As for their father’s career, they had been born into a military life and with the exception of a short assignment to a tactical reconnaissance unit, they could remember their father doing nothing but flying fighters and then training pilots. According to them, he never worked in anything secretive.

Satisfied with that, the investigators and Syrian authorities handed the Colonel over to the French Embassy where he could begin his asylum application process.

The Lieutenant Colonel’s story didn’t check out so well.

The Australian Consulate was able to contact the woman that he claimed he was engaged to. She confirmed that they’d had a romantic relationship, but that they had never been engaged. She plainly stated that the secretive nature of his work at the time put a great deal of strain on the relationship and that they’d been having regular arguments at the time she was evacuated. As far as she was concerned, their relationship ended when she left Israel. He had made attempts to keep in contact with her, but she hadn’t reciprocated.

According to her, he was assigned to a research and testing unit at the time of their relationship. However, she wasn’t able to say what he’d been involved in, as he would never speak about it.

Confronted with the fact that he actually had no tangible connection to Australia, the man requested the investigators attempt to contact family he had in Canada on the chance he could be granted asylum there.

The Deal:

The investigators agreed to contact the Lieutenant Colonel’s family in Canada, on the condition that he tell them about his time and the projects he had worked on while assigned to the research and testing unit.

Knowing that they had already spoken with his former girlfriend about him; he made no attempts to deny that he had been assigned to such a unit, but maintained his claim of no knowledge about how West Austrian derived equipment had found it’s way into Israeli military equipment.

When the investigators asked him about the blister on his aircraft and their suspicions that it had at one point housed a laser, he confirmed their suspicions. He did, however, swear that the laser had been of Soviet origins and was simply being tested to determine the feasibility of the L-39 as platform to designate targets for laser guided weapons of other aircraft and as a carrier aircraft for a laser guided bomb of domestic design currently under development.

Once the tests had been finished, the aircraft was refitted for trainer work and he received his new posting as an instructor pilot; he and the aircraft arrived at Beersheba together. The blister had not been removed as refitting the cockpit for training purposes had been seen as the higher priority. Many of the training academy’s aircraft were getting dangerously close to their airframe expiry points and lower time L-39 airframes were being diverted there from wherever they could be spared. No new L-39s would be coming in from Czechoslovakia any time soon.

A closer examination of the connector plug found in the laser fairing of the aircraft was not entirely conclusive. It was not identical to any known designs of western or eastern origin, but generally closer to western designs. It certainly wasn’t a NATO standard connector arrangement; but if the laser had been West Austrian, it would have been based on civilian medical designs, not military standard ones.

The man was questioned once more about the origins of the laser. Again, he swore it was of soviet design and that he had clear memories of seeing the laser unit before it was installed in the aircraft and seeing manufacturer’s placards on it with large amounts of Cyrillic text on them. He claimed to have attended a briefing on that particular laser system by representatives its manufacturer and the Soviet military. He had no reasons to doubt the origins of the unit.

As to what extent Austrian based technology was in service with the Israeli armed forces; the man conceded that it was in service but rather limited so far. Training and strike units of the air force were equipped with the technology and it was being developed further for the air-to-air work of interceptor units. He couldn’t speak for Austrian technology in army or naval applications.

The man was returned to holding while the investigators mulled over his latest story. They had to come to some sort of a conclusion soon. The Jordanian authorities were eager to have something concrete done with the man, preferably removal from Jordanian territory. Jordan saw no shortage of Israeli asylum seekers at its borders, but had such a backlog of requests and high percentage of suspicious or outright dubious asylum applicants, that they were left with no choice but to close their borders to any further requests from Israel.

A Call and a Counter Proposal:

The Lieutenant Colonel’s family in Canada was contacted, but stated that they had had no contact with the man since they left Israel in the late 1970s. They said that relations within the family had been poor at the time; he had been loyal to the conservative idea of Israel taking back its former glory while most of the rest of the family were embracing the more liberal, but now fallen, “New Israel” ideology. They stated quite emphatically that they considered him a closed chapter in their lives and were not inclined to help him naturalize in Canada.

Faced with this, the man claimed to have mellowed in his personal ideologies since his family left Israel. He felt the chances of “Israel for the Israelites” were just as slim as any notion of a “New Israel” had ever been. He was tired, disillusioned and craving a new start in life.

Under pressure from the Jordanians, the investigators requested and received clearance from the West Austrian Embassy to take the man to Salzburg. Custody of the man was formally handed from Jordanian to West Austrian officials and he was on a DC-9 of the OL the next morning. He was, however, not a free man.

Unwanted in Jordan, nobody willing to sponsor him in Canada or Australia and certainly no going back to Israel; the man had agreed to go to Salzburg. His asylum there hinged on his willingness to fully brief the West Austrian defense force chiefs and the president on the uses and applications of Austrian derived technology in the Israeli military.

West Austria’s government was feeling intense pressure from both inside and outside its borders to explain what it’s civilian technology was doing in the military hardware of an unstable nation, such as Israel was. The President and Trade Minister were facing increasingly harsher scrutiny from the national and international media and accusations of negligent and irresponsible trade practices from several international organizations. There were daily public demonstrations outside the parliament building demanding the President and minister resign immediately.

The President and Trade Minister desperately needed an explanation to give to the public at home and the world in general. The Lieutenant Colonel was their best bet for that explanation.

The now former instructor pilot was provided with whatever resources he needed to put together his briefing. Over the space of two weeks, he had been able to find and contact some former acquaintances and friends that had served in the other branches of the Israeli military and was able to piece together a fuller picture of how widespread the use of Austrian technology was throughout the Israeli armed services.

As his initial briefing neared completion and he was preparing to inform the president, trade and defense ministers of his findings; the East Austrian military and the rest of the Warsaw Pact force was about to face that technology in combat first hand, for the first time. 





 

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Tooth and Nail to Nazareth:

October of 1982 marked nearly two years since the Warsaw Pact forces crossed the Syrian border into Israel.

While Warsaw Pact naval forces had largely secured the northern coast of the country, land and air forces had been concentrating on points inland. It had been a perilous campaign all around. Contending not only with the regular Israeli armed forces, but also a myriad of guerilla and para-military groups willing to work with them, or against them; the Warsaw Pact forces never knew fully whom they could trust.

The cost had been high for what had been gained in two years. The naval forces had secured the coast from Hadera northward and air and land forces had secured most points north of the West Bank.

The securing of Nazareth had been a particularly hard won battle as it was the first time the Warsaw Pact forces came up against Israeli machines refitted with Western derived avionics systems. It was a rude awakening that sent a shockwave back to Moscow.

Warsaw Pact and Free Israeli MiG-21s were falling to Israeli fighters and SAMs at an unsustainable rate and the order had been given to withdraw the type entirely from the theatre of operations. MiG-23s fared better than the MiG-21 in the air-to-air arena as long as the combat was kept at missile range, they were ordered to avoid getting into cannon ranged dog fighting at all costs.

The Su-17s, 22s and 25s along with MiG-27s were also taking considerable losses, not only the predictable ones given the high risks inherent to low level strike, but also the less expected higher attrition rate to Israeli anti aircraft defenses that had been enhanced through adapted West Austrian technology.

Nazareth eventually fell, much thanks to guerilla groups sympathetic to the old, overthrown Israeli government. Many say that without those groups, the city would not have been taken.

After Nazareth, the commander of Operation Constrictor ordered the advancing forces to halt. The next objective was to be Nabulus, a mission that would see them enter the West Bank and certainly encounter new variables both for and against them in the campaign.

The commander was facing a desperate need of fresh equipment and fresh troops, the attrition in terms of both men and machines had been wildly underestimated to that point.

A new strategy was also needed.


Egypt’s About Face:

Egypt, while Socialist friendly, had maintained a staunchly non-combatant stance in regards to the conflict in Israel.

Despite pleas from the Warsaw Pact to take an active role in the matter, Egypt refused to budge on their stance. This, of course did put strain on relations between them; however, Egypt was already feeling strains of a different sort as a result of the conflict.

Egypt had keenly felt the economic hit of being close to a war zone: foreign investment was down, tourism was suffering and any revenues from shipping in the Suez Canal were also falling.

Militarily, Egypt was also suffering. With the Warsaw Pact taking such high losses in Israel and the Soviet Union doing the same in Afghanistan, spare parts for the Soviet made machinery Egypt’s military operated were becoming very scarce indeed. Equipment of all manners was going unserviceable at an alarming rate.

Egypt resolved to get control of itself, starting with the Suez Canal. In early 1983, with UN assistance, Egypt successfully took sole control over the canal and all other waters in their national sovereignty zone. The Soviet and Warsaw Pact shipping would see no further preferential treatment or influence over Egyptian waters.

As the country saw its economic fortunes turn once again to the positive, it pondered its next step.

Weary Jordan:

Like Egypt, Jordan was feeling the economic impact of being in such close proximity to a combat arena. Foreign business was stagnating, tourism profits were plummeting and young people were leaving for greener pastures as a result.

Jordan had to find a way to keep its young, educated people at home and in the domestic workforce. The economy depended on that as much as anything else.

Jordan’s military was small and in many ways out of date. Jordan approached the UN with a proposal that they would be willing to increase their work share in policing and peacekeeping duties along the Israeli border if the UN would grant them assistance with the procurement of new military gear that was up to the task and training on it.

After brief deliberations, the UN accepted Jordan’s proposal.

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Whale Watching:

The inigmatic and elusive Israeli submarine was still a much wanted vessel by both Warsaw Pact and Western militaries. Since the destruction of any known Israeli ports that could house and support a submarine; the ship itself had been particularly scarce. Some even speculated that the crew may have taken the ship out of the area entirely and sought asylum somewhere.

With the recent warming of western relations with Egypt, a NATO military presence was placed there until the country could re-equip and retrain on western military hardware. Part of the presence were Panavia Tornados and Secbat Atlantics from Italy. Both types were there primarily to secure Egyptian waters and protect shipping lanes.

Their secondary task was to confirm if the submarine was still in the area and to bring it to the surface if it was. This was largely in the interests of West Austria, as they had since learned that the ship did indeed contain a considerable percentage of equipment directly taken, or derived from technology they gave to Israel.

Though that task was officially secondary, it was becoming increasingly critical to neutralise the submarine. While it had not attacked any surface ships in over two months, much less given any evidence that it was still active in any way, Israel was fracturing in a very clear way of late and it was not clear where the ship would be taking its orders from if it was still taking orders at all.

The north of Israel was a mess of skirmishes on various levels. If it was not the official battle between the Israeli military and the increasingly demoralised Warsaw Pact forces; it was between civilians on the streets or civilian paramilitary insurgent groups working for or against either the Israeli and Warsaw Pact militaries.

The south, however, was a notably calmer place. The Warsaw Pact forces had shown little interest in it and Israeli military presence there was generally light. According to many Israelis living in asylum, the south of the country was often seen as the place where cooler heads did indeed prevail. It was a much more liberal and tolerant place than the north tended to be.

It was also said that there was a growing movement in the south to separate from the north and pursue independent statehood as the needs and desires of the north and south could be vastly different on many issues.

Fresh Talons:

From late 1982, Nato and the UN saw it as a critical objective to secure the southern portion of Israel and prevent the spread of the fighting in the north.

To this end, both Jordan and Egypt received assistance in rearming their respective militaries. Both nations would be provided Panavia Tornados in both IDS and ADV variants and training on them from Itay and West Austria. Italy would be given prime responsibility for  training the Egyptians while the Jordanians would get their training from the Austrians.

In addition to the Tornados, both countries were offered options on other aircraft and equipment.

The Jordanians jumped at the opportunity  to refresh their Mirage F.1 fleet, which was quite literally on it’s last legs. As the F.1 was a type the Jordanian pilots were familiar with, they were able to quickly take a major role in air cover for Austrian Tornados that were positioned to fly into Israeli territory when the call went out to do so.

Egypt also took on the Mirage F.1 in the fighter role. Additionally, the Egyptian navy took on a small fleet of Atlantic 2 patrol aircraft which were newer and more capable than the ones the Italians had brought with them.

Jordan and Egypt also took fleets of surplus Italian and Austrian Macchi MB.339s for the trainer and close support roles.

Securing the South:

As 1982 drew to a close, a formal plan was drawn up to enter southern Israel, secure it and bring it under decisively western influence.

The plan was to divide Israel into north and south by establishing a buffer zone running from Asquelon on the coast to En-gedi on the Dead Sea.

Through various informants and Israelis living in asylum throughout Europe, it was not difficult for the involved nations to find out who they could and couldn’t trust in southern Israel and where the seats of genuine power in that region were located.

In late January of 1983, the West Austrian special forces parachuted into key points in southern Israel from Buffalo transports and set about making contact with parties they had been told they could trust.

The units that had dropped near Gaza and Dimona located their target groups with relative ease and set about determining just how trustworthy they might be.

Unfortunately, things did not go so well for a third unit which dropped near Hazeva. Despite dropping at night, they were spotted before they landed and shots were taken at them, two were injured and all were quickly surrounded and taken prisoner at their landing zone.

As it turned out, approximately two weeks before the drops, the group in Hazeva that was said to be trustworthy had lost significant power in the city after a large scale street skirmish with insurgents from the north.

Fortunately, the insurgents saw their Austrian prisoners valuable as both media fodder and bargaining chips. The injured men had their wounds tended too and the entire group was kept in spartan but livable accomodations.

As news of the captured Austrian men spread, the group that had been contacted in Dimona proposed a plan to help liberate them. Several of the group knew Hazeva very well and had many contacts in the city who could help them further once they arrived. The members of the Austrian special forces unit were somewhat aprehensive about the offer as trust was still being built and tested; however, they could not escape the reality that the Dimona group was the best bet they had for freeing their compatriots with minimal bloodshed or more overt military action. The proposed plan was accepted; within a week the captured Austrians were free men and Hazeva was the first Israeli city directly under UN policing.

Hazeva had a small but disused airfield just outside the city limits that would soon come back to life with the thumping of Chinook and Puma rotor blades.

After initial scepticism had lessened, trust between the Israelis and the UN and NATO forces grew swiftly. What little of the official Israeli military that existed in the south of the country was either unwilling or unfit to counter to foreign presence. From many points of view, the north cared little for the south beyond the port city of Elat.

Generally speaking, the average Israeli in the south turned out to be quite happy to help anyone who could bring a better standard of living and better infrastructure to that end of the country. If the possibility of independence would be the reward for helping such people, there was no reason not to.

With established trust came the Declaration of Dimona. Among other things, the declaration established an official military and strongly encouraged citizens to enlist in it as opposed to joining one of the myriad unofficial paramilitary cells that existed. Indeed, a longer term goal of the declaration was to abolish all such groups.

The declaration also spelled out quite clearly the willingness of the populace to help and support a move to independent statehood and any officially sanctioned foreign help provided to accomplish that goal.

With Dimona as the de facto nerve centre of all cooperation between the Israelis and foreign forces, the establishment of the planned Asqelon/En-gedi buffer zone could begin in earnest.

[upnorth]

Harpooned:

In the early hours of March, 20, 1983; an Italian navy Atlantic gently lifted off of the runway at Gaza airport, unarmed.

The routine morning patrol Atlantic had departed Gaza forty five minutes prior. This particular Atlantic was being flown back to Italy by a skeleton crew for deep maintenance and a systems upgrade; it’s replacement aircraft having arrived in Gaza the day before.

The aircraft’s flight plan would take it within visual range of the border region of Egyptian and Warsaw Pact waters but still keep it a comfortable distance inside Egypt’s territory.

Looking down from the aircraft onto the sea, there was certainly no shortage of vessels to watch going about their business. Looking skyward, the morning patrol Atlantic could just be made out in the distance while pair of indistinct dots closing in grew to take the form of a pair of  Italian Tornado ADVs conducting their own patrol.

Roughly halfway across Egyptian waters, one of the aircraft’s crew members gazed out a window and caught a glipse of a ship that stood out from the others. A military ship of Soviet design carrying out some clearly aggressive manouvers and traveling at a high rate of speed. Considering how close the ship was to the territorial border, it was more a cause of genuine worry that hightened interest for the crew.

The crew swiftly contacted the patroling Atlantic and a pair of  smaller Egyptian frigates in the nearby vicinity and then adjusted their own course further from the border region.

The seemingly aggressive ship turned out to be in a state of some distress as the growing morning light illuminated a trail of oil streaming from it’s aft section. The morning light also illuminated a large, dark shadow under the water closing in on the stricken ship.

The Ship, which was so close to the border that it  could visually be identified as Turkish by the Egyptian frigates was clearly having control problems and was about to cross the border whether it’s crew intended to or not.

Nearby, a Greek Il-38 had just arrived in the area. No sooner had it slowed it’s speed than it opened it’s weapon bay doors and dropped a torpedo into the water.

The approaching morning patrol Atlantic watched as the torpedo from the Illyushin exploded just aft of the submarine. The Sumbarine’s shadow slowed, but still chased it’s Turkish target which was nearing the border. By all appearances, the submarine likely would follow it into Egyptian waters without hesitation.

As the Illyushin prepared another run against the submarine, the crew of the patroling Atlantic were preparing to do battle with the beast themselves.

From the safety of Spanish airspace, a NATO E-3 Sentry announced that it had detected two fast jets departing Crete and closing quickly on the submarine’s position. The two Italian Tornado ADVs on patrol were directed to the scene and an additional two were scrammbled from their base near Alexandria.

As the second pair of Tornados made their way to the area, the E-3 reported the launch of two further fast jets from Cyprus.

Landing the Catch:

As a second torpedo from the Illyushin contacted the water, another was just leaving the bow of the submarine.

The Turkish crew hurriedly abandoned their ship as fire engulfed the entire aft section and was rapidly moving forward. The death blow to their ship had been a decisive one.

The Illyushin’s torpedo had exploded very close to the submarine’s tail section. Close enough and powerful enough to sunstantially damage the ship’s propulsion and rudders.

The Turkish ship had managed to cross just inside the Egyptian side of the border and the Egyptian ships were moving in to begin rescuing the crew. At the same time, the submarine seemed to be carrying forward on momentum and whatever limited power it could generate toward the border.

Aboard the Atlantic, warning systems started going off; one of the Cyprus based jets had locked onto it and launched a missile. Moments after the missile had been launched, the attacking aircraft was destroyed by a missile fired from one of the Tornados in the area.

As the Greek pilot ejected from his MiG-23 moments after it had been struck; the countermeasures on the Atlantic were successful in evading the incoming missile. The Tornados fired two more missiles at the other MiG-23, which subsequently altered its course back to Cyprus.

The Atlantic recovered it’s course and returned to the scene to watch the submarine begin to surface just as it was about to cross into Egyptian territory. As the ship crossed the border, it was transmitting a distress signal and opened the crew access and escape hatches. Smoke came pouring out of open hatches near the rear of the machine as the crew inside fought to supress fires breaking out in the engine section from spreading further forward in the boat.

Two larger ships, one Egyptian and one Italian, had entered the area in the meantime and began taking on sailors from the submarine. A larger transport vessel was also dispatched to tow the submarine to an Egyptian port. It was clearly a Yankee class, but a closer inspection was certainly warranted as were interviews with the crew.

On the other side of the border, the Illyushi Il-38 was flying a circuit from which they could clearly see events unfold on the Egyptian side. It’s weapons bay doors had been closed; with the submarine safely in Egyptian and Italian hands, no more shots would be fired at it.

New Predators:

The two fast jets dispatched from Crete had brought themselves into visual range and were clearly, and shockingly, Sukhoi Su-24 “Fencer” aircraft with two anti shipping missiles each and, even more shockingly, full Greek markings.

The Su-24 was a very much enigmatic machine at the time and subject to much speculation in the west. It was known to be a variable geometry type, ostensibly a strike type on par with the F-111 and Tornado. However, it had existed mostly in grainy pictures and questionable artist concepts in the west up to that time.

This was the first clear view of the type in actual operation and also the first proof that the Soviets had exported it. The brief opportunity to photograph them at relatively close quarters from the Atlantic and also surface ships was most certainly not squandered.

With four Tornado ADVs in the vicinity and only two short range AAMs each for self defence, the Su-24 crews remained unprovocative and turned their aircraft back to Crete.

However, the presence of such an aircraft in the area was certainly cause to increase air patrols along the border region and over southern Italian waters.

Catch of the Day:

Nearly as soon as the submarine had been moored at a remote Egyptian port, teams of investigators were preparing to secure and board it.

On exterior inspection, it was confirmed as Yankee class. However, it had several irregularities on the hull in the amidships region that indicated something had once been mounted to it, but then removed.

Though the ship bore no markings on the outside, the crew was fully Israeli and declared the ship was indeed property of the Israeli navy.

Internally, the ship was largely of Soviet orgins in all aspects. On closer scrutiny, inspectors found approximately 20% of the ship’s navigational system to be of direct or partial western derivation.

Initial findings seemed to indicate that, while this was not the infamous submarine that everyone was looking for, it did prove that western technology had not been limited to air force applications in the Israeli military.

After much questioning of the crew, the investigators found that the ship was indeed the much sought after submarine, but in refitted form.

The tactical crew explained that the irregularities on the hull were remnants of the mountings for scabbed on fairings containing an experimental version of a torpedo with a far superior guidance and targeting system to what was standard on a Yankee class ship. The fairings had contained not only the torpedos but also a large amount of electronics specific to them.

Further, they said that the investigators would have found a higher percentage of western derived electronics prior to the removal of the fairings as most of those electronics were directly connected to the experimental torpedos and were removed at the time of refit.

The refit had been carried out quietly at a small commercial port not far from the ship’s home port of Gaza. The entire torpedo program had been cancelled in favor of redirecting money and resources to the growing air and ground campaign in the north.

The torpedo fairings, torpedos and associated systems were all destroyed and the ship reverted to a near standard Yankee class configuration.

While it comfortably explained why the ship had been quiet the past few months, it did deny the investigators a large amount of quite damning and concrete evidence that the Israelis were using western technology directly in the development of offensive weapons development.

However, The crew had also explained that their primary targets were Warsaw pact ships because the crew was almost entirely from the south of Israel and, as most southern Israelis, felt largely marginalised and ignored by the north and resented taking orders from higher authorities who cared little for the south. Their rationale was that their ship, being Soviet by construction but Israeli by signature, would be the ideal tool to keep tensions between the Warsaw pact and Israel high. The continuation of hostilities, which were primarily in the north, would eventually weaken the north and put the south in a position where it could be at some point strong enough to break from the north and take on independent statehood.

With  Israel quickly dividing itself and the south becoming a trustworthy ally, the missing evidence was not so much and issue as it might have been at an earlier stage in matters. The ship’s crew, being almost exlusively from the south had their testimony taken largely at face value and were returned to their homeland when the investigation concluded.

The ship, considered to be beyond repair, was taken out to sea and swiftly sunk by a well placed Kormoran missile from an Italian Tornado.

[upnorth]

The Long Wait:

Encamped since October 1982 within striking distance of Nabulus, the Warsaw Pact forces and what little was left of the Israeli Free Regiments awaited response from higher powers to their requirements for more men, machines and supplies. A negligible supply of spare parts and rations had been trickling to them, but they needed much more to mobilise properly again.

Desertion and a growing apathy among the troops had grown to become very serious. Mostly this was due to the fact that they no longer knew concretely who they were fighting. The Israeli military had all but ceased to operate as a cohesive fighting force and the bulk of its membership and equipment had been absorbed into the growing number of paramilitary groups in the north of the country. Clearly, the strategies used to fight an organised military could not effectively be used to combat insurgent groups.

The commanders themselves had trouble keeping their own morale. With the knowledge that the UN had established a clear and internationally recognised frontier dividing the north and south of the country; the goal of gaining any meaningful victory over Israel had gone from being exceedingly difficult to being outright impossible regardless of any new strategy they might devise.

They waited, they could do little else until their request for resupply was fulfilled.

A Darkness at Home:

Across the Warsaw Pact nations, citizens were tiring of seeing their men return home dead, maimed and psychologically broken.

Demonstrations had been staged in almost all of the countries which had troops in Israel calling for an immediate pull out of all Warsaw Pact forces from the area. Some also called for the complete deportation of all Israelis living in asylum in the Warsaw Pact.

Many people  in the Warsaw Pact nations felt a sense of betrayal. That the Israelis, whom they had helped rebuild and rearm, had turned on them. Many buildings, neighborhoods and businesses that could be connected to Israelis were vandalised across the Warsaw Pact nations. Actual acts of physical violence against the Israelis themselves were relatively low compared to the property damage and general social alienation they suffered. Still, a clear message was being sent that they had largely worn out their welcome.

Through a variety of international treaties and agreements, the majority of Israelis in the Warsaw Pact spent the mid 1980s relocating to points outside of it. This included a large number which moved directly from East Austria to West Austria.

Western Worries:

In both West Austria and Italy, the influx of Israelis migrating from the Warsaw Pact was just the latest piece of ammunition that the increasingly uneasy public in both countries could use to further question the wisdom of their countries getting so deeply involved with matters in not only Israel, but the Middle East in general.

The Israeli act of adapting West Austrian technology to military purposes without any form of permission was, of course, a lingering thorn in the side of West Austria. A similar feeling of betrayal gripped West Austrians over that matter as was currently gripping the East Austrians over matters in northern Israel.

Such sentiments in West Austria had been somewhat eased by the establishment of the line between northern and southern Israel and that southern Israelis were working very cooperatively with the UN forces and showed a clear interest in not letting their end of the country spiral into the chaos that the north had become. However, Israel was still unstable; That much could not be denied.

Military aid to Egypt had been controversial as well; the act of providing a recently Soviet friendly nation with the still new Panavia Tornado was irresponsible in the eyes of many. Providing the most advanced strike aircraft in western Europe to a nation that was an ally to the Warsaw Pact scarcely a year before was seen as very questionable indeed by many. There were notable protests in Great Britain and Germany as many in both countries felt, as partner nations in the Tornado, more should have been done to prevent the sale of it to Egypt.

Demonstrations against further aid to Israel or Egypt were becoming very routine in West Austria and Italy. The demonstrations were usually centred on military instalations where southern Israeli military personnel were being trained on western equipment in preparation for the establishment of a formal military and government in that region.

The west was taking a vested interest in the successful independent statehood of southern Israel and no amount of protest was going to keep that vision from being realised.

Paving the Road:

August 1, 1983 saw the establishment and international recognition of southern Israel as the North Sinai Protectorate with Dimona as its provisional capital.

The first stone in the road to statehood had been laid. Under UN supervision, a new nation’s road to independence would hopefully be a smooth one.

With West Austrian and Italian Tornados constantly patroling the northern buffer zone and Jordanian Mirage F.1s patroling the skies overhead; all seemed well and safe for the new nation to gestate and eventually be born.

The air base at Beersheba was gradually being refitted to handle the maintenance facilities for the Marchetti SF.260 and Macchi MB.339 aircraft that would become the workhorses of the new nation’s air force training academy while the naval port at Gaza was systematically being rebuilt to accept western ships.

All but the hardiest of paramilitary cells had been eradicated from southern Israel. They had been hunted down mercilessly and their members given the option to renounce the insurgent way of life and serve in the newly established national militia or be sent to prison indefinitely.

The new nation would stop at nothing to show the world at large that it could be trusted.

However, controversy would touch it again more than once on the way to self determination.

The Salzburg Summit:

In late September of 1983 a meeting with many delegates from around western Europe as well as delgations from Egypt, Jordan and the newly founded North Sinai Protectorate; was held in Salzburg.

The meeting was to officially recognise the existance of the North Sinai Protectorate at the international level and lay a firm foundation for it’s security and eventual independent statehood.

The highlight of the event was seen by many to be the signing of a tri-national Sinai Alliance between Egypt, Jordan and North Sinai. Given the tensions that were known to pervade the Middle East, many proclaimed a profound sense of disbelief at what they were witnessing as not simply a non aggression treaty, but a full alliance was signed.

After the signing of the Sinai Alliance agreement, Egyptian and Jordanian delegates cited the importance of stabilising and rebuilding their economies, which had seen significant negative side effects from the continued conflict in Israel. Ultimately it was felt, by those two nations at least, that harbouring ancient hostilities was less important than tending to modern needs and that it was better all around to have good relations with North Sinai if at all possible.

Needless to say, the alliance did not at all sit well with other Arab League nations and Egyptians and Jordanians in those nations were advised to leave quickly. In light of  the high degree of foreign presence in North Sinai and the protectorate’s obvious willingness to cooperate with those helping it; the Arab League eventually, if begrudgingly, accepted the Sinai Alliance.

Not everyone in Europe was happy about North Sinai. Many Israelis living in asylum were very vocal in their objection to Israel being split and having part of it recognised as a different nation. Many others had consigned themselves to the belief that the revival of Israel in modern times had been a pipe dream and should be accepted as such.

North Sinai had been internationally recognised and accepted by all of western Europe and the bulk of the Middle East. The UN at large was set to do so shortly after.

The Berlin Bargain:

North Sinai spent the Autumn of 1983 seeing in the official establishment of its own domestic armed services and the stationing of equipment and vehicles.

The first groups of SF.260 and MB.339 aircraft had taken up residence at Beersheba after their crews had completed training in Italy.

Elat had seen the arrival of the first Gazelle helicopters and crews freshly trained from France and were awaiting the first Puma helicopters, due in december 1983 and January 1984.

Further negotions for the arming of the North Sinai Armed Services (NSAS) would be held in November of 1983 in Berlin. The location was rather a surprise to many. Even more surprising was that it was requested by North Sinai themselves.

Many speculated that the location was chosen out of an interest in resumed war reparations being given to Israel by Germany; those reparations had been officially suspended due to the continued turmoil in Israel.

However, North Sinai delegates categorically denied any such intent to revive the reparations and requested Germany as the location to show the world that North Sinai was a forward looking land with equally forward looking people. The North Sinai delegation came to the table in Berlin with the slogan: “We cannot change the past, so let’s built the future together”. To underline the sincerity of that slogan, North Sinai officially excused Germany from any further war reparations to them.

The Berlin talks largely centred on the transport and surveilance needs of the NSAS and to a smaller degree on land force requirements. The tactical transport requirement was a forgone conclusion; NSAS crews had been training in Italy on the G.222 transport. The German offer of ex-Luftwaffe C-160 Transalls was all but symbolic in the procedings. The deal for refurbished Italian G.222s was made official in Berlin.

The surveilance requirement was not so clear cut. North Sinai had been approached by Spain’s Casa and their C.212 aircraft in both transport and surveilance platforms. The had also been approached by Brazil’s Embraer, who were hoping to find a new market for their EMB 110 Bandeirante transport and it’s maritime patrol offshoot, the EMB 111 Bandierulha.

The Embraer aircraft narrowly beat out the Casa when Embraer included the construction of assembly and maintenance depot facilities for the NSAS aircraft in North Sinai itself. The employment potential of such facilities was too good to pass up.

For Germany, the payoff to hosting the event came in the form of a sizable selection of land vehicles, both softskin and armor, of German origin taken on as the nucleus of the NSAS land forces. This included the Leopard 2 MBT, which was seen as a better alternative to second hand Chieftains from West Austria or second hand M60s from Italy. NSAS could have a modern MBT without waiting for the Challenger or Ariete MBTs still in development.

Scepticism and optimism had filled the air in equal measures at the beginning of the Berlin talks; optimism and relief were the prevailing emotions at the the end.

The Road Ahead:

According to various plans and agreements, North Sinai would make the transition from protectorate to independent state in September 1987.

While seen by some as a wildly optimistic short time, North Sinai was determined to do it’s part to see that date met.

The provisional government had been marketing North Sinai to the rest of the world as meeting place for east and west, eager for investors, foreign companies, tourists and a potential host venue for international events of all sorts.

Some in the international community felt that North Sinai’s ambitions were beyond it’s resources. However, there was a queue of nations willing to help the fledgling nation. The willingness of Embraer to place facilities there was evidence of that. Additionally, the port city of Elat was starting to see some popularity with tourists. As tourism was starting to pick up again in Egypt and Jordan, people were taking notice of Elat along the way.

Italy and West Austria had committed to keep a military presence in the area at least until statehood could be established. NSAS had yet to be granted access to tactical combat jets of any sort, the Italian and Austrian Tornados would be tending to that requirement for the time being.

A Thousand Nails:

As the world seemed to be rejoicing, or at least observing with guarded optimism, the development of North Sinai; an event in the embattled north of the former Israel in the following days would put everything back on edge.

Mid morning of December 1, 1983 heard the echo of jet fghters across north Israeli skies. This was unusal as the air war had essentially ended. More unusual was that the noise was coming from the area still not controlled by Warsaw Pact forces when general belief was that the air element of the Israeli forces was no longer existant. Surely insurgent cells would have no way to bring combat jets into operation.

The Warsaw Pact force had made their way very close to Nabulus. They had seen enough resupply to make some meaningful progress, though morale was still low.

Syrian based radar station were reporting a large number of aircraft moving quickly towards Nabulus. The Warsaw Pact forces manned their anti aircraft guns while fighters were scrammbled from Syria and points further north in Israel.

Aboard a battered Antonov An-12 holding station high over the Israeli held territory, a large crew stood by at their monitor screens in the modified cargo hold. As the mass of fighters cruised high and neared Nabulus, the crew’s order was given.

En masse, the unmanned and heaily explosive laden MiG-21s were directed downward at the Warsaw Pact troops from the safety of the Antonov.

As the news of the event quickly rippled across the world and the footage of the ensuing carnage went along  with it; many demonstrations in Warsaw Pact countries turned into full scale riots. The public demanded their troops home immediately.

The event did cast a clear shadow of scepticism across North Sinai that would simply have to be lived with for some time.

With Moscow’s consent, the Warsaw Pact force were quickly withdrawn from northern Israel, leaving what was left of that country and it’s people to their own devices.

West Austria would be the first of many called upon to send peace keeping troops into the north on the UN’s behalf.

[apophenia]

Going great 'north. Keep it up!

Hopefully as things go on, later instalments might give you some inspiration for profiles of machines later in the story.

Try and stop me ... I dare ya 

BTW, do we know yet what the North Sinai scheme/markings would be?

[upnorth]

Try and stop me ... I dare ya 

BTW, do we know yet what the North Sinai scheme/markings would be?

That's the spirit! :)

The NSAS scheme for aircraft is similar to the later OL Operation Anvil scheme of a two tone brown wraparound for strike aircraft and helicopters.

A much subdued pattern of the two browns, with a light grey underside, was typical for air defense and transport types.

As for the insignia:

The NSAS insignia is a chevron design similar to the current Hungarian insignia, only in blue white and gold the colours of the North Sinai flag.

The insignia was usually carried in four positions: upper left wing, lower right wing and either side of the fuselage. The fuselage position is either on the forward fuselage under the cockpit or rear fuselage somewhere between the wing and tail. The upper right wing had "NSAS" on it while the lower left wing had the inividual aircraft's three digit ID code.

The North Sinai flag was on both sides of the tail fin with the aircraft's full five digit serial code centred under it.

Patrol and surveillance aircraft followed the above insignia layout, but were painted in a two tone grey scheme. The lighter underside grey wrapped around the darker topside shade in places to create a camouflage pattern.

Helicopters usually had the insignia on either side of the tail boom about midway along bracketed by "NSAS" and the three digit A/C number. One additional insignia went on the underside of the fuselage.

Individual unit insignia were rare on NSAS aircraft and quite discreet when they were present.

Later this week, I'll post some images of the North Sinai flag and insignia from my sketchbook to give you a clearer idea of what they look like.

[apophenia]

Excellent. Sounds good ... and I like the ideal of Hungarian-style roundels (triangdels?)

Just to confirm on the patrol/surv scheme: there's just two greys - the upper grey and the lower grey (which also wraps around to form the 'second colour' in the upper camo scheme)?

[upnorth]

Just to confirm on the patrol/surv scheme: there's just two greys - the upper grey and the lower grey (which also wraps around to form the 'second colour' in the upper camo scheme)?

That's right.

[upnorth]

I just made these quick and dirty sketches of the North Sinai flag and armed services insignia:



"maris arenam fortunaque" (Sea, Sand and Success)
Official motto of North Sinai Protectorate and later North Sinai Republic.

North Sinai put a great deal of thought and care into the design of what would become their national flag and insignia derived from it. From an early stage, it was agreed that the flag would be something that truly represented the nation in a way all within could generally agree upon. As such, any symbols connected to any religion were ruled out very early in the design process.

Ultimately, after several false starts and refinements, the above design was settled upon.

Representative of the two elements that bound all residents of the country equally: sea and sand. Whatever successes or failures the country experienced, they would be inextricably linked to one, or both, of those elements.

Similar care was taken in choosing the national motto and the language it would appear in. The motto itself reflected the same connection to the sea and desert that the flag did. Latin, rather than one of the country's official languages, was chosen as the language for the motto so as not to show particular favour to any one ethnicity in the land.

The official insignia of the North Sinai Armed Services (NSAS), shown below the flag, was designed to represent both speed and progress. North Sinai prided itself on being forward looking and responsive to events both inside and outside it's borders. With those values in mind, the national military insignia was designed as a forward pointing chevron.

In the majority of cases, the insignia was used in full colour. Even in low visibility variations the colours were kept, though quite muted, and the white often replaced with the standard underside grey colour.

[apophenia]

Cheers 'north. About lo-viz insignia: which aircraft would've used them (and at what stage)?

[upnorth]

Cheers 'north. About lo-viz insignia: which aircraft would've used them (and at what stage)?

High viz was used on all NSAS equipment during the protectorate era. Low viz variations did not start appearing until 1988, some months after North Sinai was declared a republic in late 1987.

The first NSAS machines to get low viz insignia were the armored vehicles of the land forces. NSAS tanks and other armor were painted in an overall dust grey finish. As such, the insignia was simply muted blue and yellow with the background grey standing in for the white.

The first aircraft to be seen in low viz were Tornado ADVs. Eventually, low viz insignia found their way onto strike aircraft such as Tornado IDS, AMX and weapons capable MB.339s.

Patrol and surveillance aircraft kept high viz  until the mid 1990s.

Low viz was also experimented with on tactical helicopters and transports, but never saw fleet wide use in either context.

[apophenia]

Thanks 'north. So the Embraers, for example, would be high-viz schemes whether patrol or transport versions. Okay...

[upnorth]

Thanks 'north. So the Embraers, for example, would be high-viz schemes whether patrol or transport versions. Okay...

For the scope of my story, which ends around 1990 or so, that is true.

It also holds true for all trainers regardless of era.

[upnorth]

Relics and Restorations:

As dawn flooded the tarmac of the LOVA transport base at Graz on a early december morning in 1984, a delegation of senior LOVA fighter pilots boarded a Tupolev 154 bound for the Soviet Union.

They’d been carefully chosen to be the first pilots for LOVA’s new front line fighter, intended to supplement the MiG-23 that was the bulwark of East Austrian air defense and replace fully the large number of MiG-21s that had been pulled out of storage to replace aircraft lost during the Israeli conflict.

Relatively few of the pilots en route to train on the new fighter were actual veterans of events in Israel. Most veterans of the conflict were found psychologically unfit to remain in military service after returning. Those that were fit were transferred from active combat roles to instructional duties. Indeed, the majority of the pilots on board the Tupolev were high time MiG-23 pilots who had been kept at home. The rest of the group was made up of veteran MiG-21 instructor pilots who had been part of training the Free Israeli Regiments and then the training of a steady flow of young Austrian pilots to replace those lost in combat over Israel.

LOVA, along with the rest of the East Austrian military, was still very much in a reconstructive phase a full year after the Warsaw Pact pull out from Israel. LOVA’s fleets of SU-22 and Su-25 strike aircraft had taken substantial losses in Israel, to the point where there was barely a viable number of either left servicable in the inventory. Ultimately those aircraft were given to Czechoslovakia in exchange for Aero L-39Z Albatros aircraft. While the armed Albatros variant could not deliver nearly the same punch as the Sukhoi aircraft could, it was simple to maintain and obtainable in large enough numbers to make a viable interim strike force with.

While LOVA’s new Albatros strike fleet worked up at Obergrafendorf and subsequently transferred to Bad Leonfelden; the Soviet Union took up station at Ferlach with a fleet of Su-24 strike aircraft.

It had been decided that LOVA needed a new front line fighter to bring morale up in the force and to show the public that, despite the battle losses in Israel, their armed services were still dependable and strong.

All eyes on the Fulcrum:

As the chosen LOVA pilots made their way to the Soviet Union for training, all talk was of the new MiG-29 “Fulcrum”. It had already entered service in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland and seemed set to equip several other nations.

Though seasoned pilots, there was an undeniable buzz of  youthful excitement in the Tupolev’s cabin at the prospect of finally getting their hands on the stick of the latest fighter.

Shortly after the Tupolev landed and the passengers disembarked, they were rather taken aback by how quiet the base they were at seemed to be. They were assured this was indeed the base they would be training at, but that the aircraft they would be training on were out on training flights or being serviced.

With the exception of the Tupolev they had arrived in, a lone MiG-29UB being prepared for departure and an Mi-8 base rescue helicopter on stand by; the entire base seemed quite devoid of aircraft.

The curious pilots were shown to their barracks and settled in. Later, as they sat down to dinner in the mess hall, the rather subdued conversation centred on the continued apparent absence of aircraft at the base. Surely any aircraft that had been out on training runs would have returned to base by that time. Yet, the only jet noises any of them had heard since arrival were their Tupolev departing and the lone MiG-29UB departing shortly after.

As the pilots were finishing their dinner, a large number of jets could be heard in the distance. Soon, the mess hall was shaken by the aircraft passing low overhead. As the mess hall cleared and it’s occupants rushed out to see the aircraft overhead, they were shocked to see a formation, not of MiG-29s, but the larger Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” aircraft.

One by one, the Sukhois landed, braking parchutes streaming and mighty Lyulka AL-31 engines howling to a stop. The aircraft were all two seat variants and disappeared from view shortly after arriving.

The LOVA pilots returned to their barracks excited to have seen at least something to make this base look less like the sleepy backwater it had struck them to be so far. They were still, however, baffled that they had only seen one MiG-29 all day and it had not returned; considering the fact that it had three auxiliary fuel tanks attached to it, they hadn’t expected it to return anyway.

The following morning, their breakfast was disturbed in much the same manner as their dinner the night before had been, by the thunderous roar of AL-31 engines. A two ship of Su-27s left the runway just as breakfast was concluding and another two were being towed to the apron from nearby hangars.

The pilots were lead to a briefing room and were left utterly speechless at the news that they would be training to fly the Su-27 rather than the MiG-29. They had all assumed they would be training on the MiG, they had been given no reason by their superiors to believe otherwise would be the case. Logic itself dictated that, like their neighboring Warsaw Pact nations, they would similarly be receiving the Fulcrum.

It had seemed such a forgone conclusion that the Fulcrum would be LOVA’s next fighter, that nobody involved had spoken of anything else as an alternative. The LOVA pilots in the briefing room were left waiting for a punchline that would never come. It was no joke, LOVA would get the mighty Flanker.

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1985:

The beginning of 1985 saw West Austrian military forces at the spearhead of UN peacemaking and peacekeeping missions in the north of what had been Israel.

Salzburg was playing the role of facilitator and host to many international meetings of both political and commercial nature that would ensure that the switch from protectorate to rebublic for North Sinai would go as smoothly as possible and remain on schedule for the projected event in 1987.

Militarily, there weren’t too many changes to the West Austrian order of battle. A tender had been put out for a new MBT to replace the long serving Chieftains. This was a neccesity as there turned out to be more than a few issues with interoperability between the old Chieftains and the new North Sinai designed and built Canaan IFV the West Austrian army was bringing in.

The competition for the tender was an anti climactic event between the German Leopard 2, the French Leclerc and the British Challenger 1.

The Germans won the tender with ease. Being as how the Canaan was based on a slightly downsized Leopard 2 chassis and had, in the hands of the North Sinai military, shown no interoperability issues with that MBT, it was the logical Chieftain replacement.

The competition was seen largely as a formality by all involved and nobody was particularly surprised by the outcome.

No new aircraft types were added to the OL stable that year. However, West Austria and Italy initiated a joint upgrade program for their Tornado IDS, ADV and MB.339 fleets.

Farewell to Old Horses:

Two aircraft of particularly growing concern in OL were the SF.260 trainer and the Mirage F.1.

The SF.260, while popular, was not really an ideal trainer for a modern NATO military in the mid 80s. many NATO militaries were transitioning from piston powered to turboprop training aircraft and this was not lost on the OL.

In late 1985, the decision was made to supplement and eventually replace OL SF.260s with EMB 312 Tucanos built at the former Helwan factory in Egypt. Embraer had purchased Helwan shortly after establishing their North Sinai facilities. The purchase was primarily to have a Tucano production line to supply African and Middle Eastern markets and compete more directly with Pilatus built trainers in Europe.

The upgrades for the Tornado IDS left the remaining OL Mirage F.1s completely superfluous. The Tornado upgrade included, among other things, a very capable and modern recce package that rendered the F.1 unrequired for even those duties.

Unlike the SF.260s in OL hands, which had more than enough life left in them to make them interesting to the second hand market, the F.1s were too old and well used for resale.

The end of 1985 saw the retirement of the OL Mirage F.1. A few found their way into museums, the remainder were destroyed as either emergency procedures trainers or gunnery range targets.

The Linz Line: The Same, but Different:

The changes to air power in East Austria had certainly not gone unseen to those NATO pilots who flew border patrol along the Linz line.

Gone were the hulking Su-17, Su-22 and Su-25 aircraft; their place surprisingly taken by the armed but diminutive L-39 Albatros.

Rather more worrisome was the presence of Soviet Su-24 aircraft so close to the border. The Sukhoi aircraft was a regularly seen denizen of the border area by OL, RAF and CAF aircrews. It was so common that it was as if the Soviets really wanted the west to get a good look at the type.

Also in the gap left by LOVA’s loss of heavy litting strike aircraft was the sight of more heavily armed helicopters. Prior to the Israeli conflict, it was very rare to see an armed LOVA Mi-17 helicopter. However, after the conflict, it was very rare to see one without at least two medium sized rocket pods at all times.

LOVA MiG-23s were still the dominant air to air machine in East Austria, though the increase in MiG-21s coming out of mothballs was also noted by NATO pilots.

The MiG-29 Fulcrum was known to be making inroads into Warsaw Pact air forces at the time, though the fact that East Austrian skies seemed Fulcrum free in 1985 was of little concern to NATO in the larger picture. Of course, NATO had no knowledge that the first group of LOVA Su-27 pilots were at that very time in the Soviet Union training to fly a much more capable and threatening machine than the MiG-29 would ever be.

The usual “Antenna Farm” aircraft from Klagenfurt made their regular flights along the Linz Line, though the types had changed a bit. The Antonov An-12 was rarely seen at all from the mid 80s on; In it’s place was a regular rotation of Antonov An-26 variations and at least three different Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft that would fly along the line at quite high speed. Each Yak-40 had a significantly different antenna fit than the others and nearly always carried underwing or underfuselage pods of one description or another.

By several reports from Canadian CF-18 Hornet pilots and OL Tornado ADV crews; the Yak-40s were all but impossible to track reliably on radar. By all indications, the aircraft were being used to assess and counter western air intercept radars.

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1985 The Bigger Picture:

Outside of the two Austrias; 1985 brought the beginnings of a massive shift in relations between east and west. That year saw Mikhail Gorbachev, and his various ideas for sweeping reforms, come to power in the Soviet Union.

Late 1985 saw the Geneva Summit meeting between Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev. While the summit proved little else than that east and west now had leaders that would speak to each other about changes, it did lay the groundwork for the Reykjavik Summit the following year.

While tensions between east and west were set to loosen, there was a long way yet to go.

In September 1986, after nearly two years of training in the Soviet Union, the first LOVA Su-27 regiment arrived at Zeltweg. Almost at once, they were performing regular patrols along the Linz Line, throwing NATO intelligence into a frenzy.

NATO fully expected that the MiG-29 would eventually make it’s appearance in LOVA hands and briefed their pilots in the area to expect encounters with the Fulcrum in the near future. When an OL Tornado returned to its base with its crew not only reporting the sight of the much larger Sukhoi fighter in LOVA markings, but with photographic evidence to back their claims, NATO went on high alert.

While the MiG-29 had become a rather familiar shape to NATO pilots patroling the borderlands between east and west and many of the speculations about it had been put to rest when a Yugoslav pilot defected to Italy with one in July of 1985 and briefed NATO about the Fulcrum; the Sukhoi aircraft was still very much an enigmatic beast. The existence of the Flanker was known about and its general arrangement could be determined from grainy photos. At the time, it was a truly unknown quantity that had not been expected to be seen so close to western territory and certainly not in export service.

NATO patrols along the Linz Line were increased substantially from September of 1986.

Reykjavik Summit:

The controversy of the Su-27 based so close to Western Territory on the eve of the Reykjavik Summit in early October of 1986 nearly derailed the summit before it began.

Many felt it to be at least strongly ironic, if not outright hypocritical, for Gorbachev to enter the summit on a platform of arms reduction so soon after the latest in Soviet fighter technology had been seen serving in a satelite nation’s hands directly on the opposite side of the Linz Line. The Flanker’s presence there was highly provocative and it became a topic of heated debate at the summit.

While the subject did not derail the summit entirely, it did leave an overall bitter flavour to the talks among all who participated

Strings Attached:

While no satisfactory solution to the East Austrian Flanker issue was reached, a proposal was put forth by the west to ease current tensions regarding the aircraft:

1:
 LOVA Flankers were to be withdrawn from East Austrian service in favour of the better known MiG-29.

Or

2:
LOVA Flankers had to be limited in their armaments to their cannon and short and medium range AAMs. Any ability that the aircraft might possess for long range intercepts or air to ground work had to be disabled.

The proposal was seen as veiled threat by some and an attempt to “Castrate” the aircraft and leave East Austrian territory at a higher state of vulnerability.

After the time and resources that had gone into training the LOVA Su-27 pilots, the idea of trading the Flanker in for Fulcrums was met roundly as a complete non-option.

Begrugingly, the plans to downgrade the LOVA Flankers were drawn up and put into action. Pilots were under strict orders to keep the Flankers well away from the Linz Line until all aircraft in the fleet had been downgraded and inspected by an international delegation scheduled to approve of the changes in late January of 1987.

Moves of Good Faith:

With the Su-27 Flanker debacle seemingly under control, it was felt by many in the upper echelons of the East Austrian parliament, that something extra could be done to quell tensions further in the interests of more future dialog between east and west.

A nervous proposal had been put forth from Vienna to Moscow requesting that the Su-24 Fencer regiment at Ferlach be relocated further east to Klosterneuburg if not taken out of East Austrian territory entirely.

Two months passed with no response. Vienna had begun to resign themselves to the possibility that their proposal had simply fell on deaf ears. The Soviet Fencers flew their routes along the Linz Line unabated.

In early January, a response was finally forthcoming from Moscow; the Fencer regiment was to be transferred home to the Soviet Union by May of 1987.

On the heels of that news, plans were put in motion to deactivate one LOVA base. The Soviets had kept Ferlach in very good condition to the point where LOVA could start operations from there almost immediately.

Eventually, Linz and Bad Leonfelden were shortlisted as the candidates for closure. Not only because they were both close to the Linz Line, but also because of their close proximity to each other. It was felt that two air bases so close to each other were not neccesary.

Bad Leonfelden had undergone significant refitting and refurbishment to remove the infrastructure and gear to support the now retired Sukhoi strike aircraft that had once been there to make way for the lighter L-39 strike force that was now calling it home.
While Linz was the hub of LOVA helicopter activity, it was becoming more difficult to coordinate military activity smoothly with increased commercial traffic from the civil side of the Linz airfield.

Ultimately, the military side of the Linz airport would be handed over to the municipality for civil usage and LOVA Helicopters would find a new home at Ferlach a few months after the Soviets had vacated that base.

Flankers for Good:

As agreed, January 1987 saw an international delgation arrive in Zeltweg to be briefed on and to inspect the downgraded LOVA Su-27 fleet.

It was a rather protracted affair as it was neccesary to brief the delegation on the full capabilities of a standard Su-27 so that they could have some frame of reference for the scale of the downgrades.

After a week and a half of inspections, conferences and deliberations; the delegation were satisfied with the revised state of these particular Flankers.

The downgrades did not affect the engines or flight performance and the aircraft’s IRST system was left intact and functional. However, beyond the cannon, the aircraft was limited to AA-8 “Aphid” missiles for short range along with IR and semi-active radar homing versions of the medium range version of the AA-10 “Alamo”.

Eventually, tensions loosened up enough for the aircraft to be “upgraded” to carry AA-11 “Archer” for short range and to add the fully active radar homing version of the AA-10 to its arsenal. Still, long range missiles were never approved for LOVA Flankers at any point in their service lives.

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Policing “The Wedge” :

Directly north of the Ashdod/En-gedi line that formed the buffer zone between North Sinai and the remainder of Israel was an area that had come to be known to the UN policing forces patrolling it as “The Wedge”.

The Wedge was not fully the remainder of Israel, but a roughly triangular shaped segment of it with the Ashdod/En-gedi buffer zone defining it’s southern frontier and a relatively straight line from just north of Hadera to the northern terminus of the Dead Sea. This line was the limit to how far Warsaw Pact forces had infiltrated Israel before withdrawing.

The Wedge was essentially the part of Israel that the Israeli Defence Forces, and later insurgent cells, had managed to defend successfully. Jerusalem had remained the capital city.

When West Austrian led UN peacekeeping forces entered the area in early 1985, The Wedge was a truly dangerous and unruly place. Paramilitary cells were in evidence everywhere and none of them could be trusted, as they themselves trusted nobody. The structure of power was all but impossible to determine. Authority seemed to alternate between the various cells at an alarming rate and most of the politicians in the parliament had very clear connections to the various cells.

The first six months of the policing mission were quite costly in both personnel and equipment losses for the UN force. However, in autumn of 1985, their fortunes changed when they were approached by a sizable group of men and women who claimed to be the remaining members of three defeated paramilitary cells that had fallen from favour with their “connections” in the parliament.

The group presented the UN force members with their barely serviceable weapons for inspection to show that they really were no threat. Once a basic trust had been established, the group gave a briefing about a plan among the less popular cells to overthrow the parliament and weaken the stronger cells and if not completely destroy those cells, at least drive them out over the northern frontier.

Through a number of Israeli expatriates living in Europe, the group’s story was largely verified and permission to work with them was given to the UN forces.

By the beginning of 1986, the western part of The Wedge was almost completely free of major government backed cells. With the southern frontier fully secured by UN and North Sinai forces and Jordanian forces standing at the ready to the east; the parliament and the cells they backed had few options left to them by October of the same year.

Most of the smaller cells simply dispersed or surrendered to the UN advance on Jerusalem. The stronger, more fanatical cells either fell trying to hold the city or fled over the northern frontier.

In late November of 1986, the parliament collapsed and Jerusalem came under complete UN control. There was much revelling in the streets and the Israeli flags flew proudly everywhere in the territory.

However, many people in The Wedge were of the feeling that North Sinai should be reunited with them and not continue on the road to statehood. It was a contentious issue and still remains one today. North Sinai had grown prosperous and many people both inside and outside its borders were very optimistic about it’s future.

In a national plebiscite, the people of North Sinai overwhelmingly sent a message that they had no interest in reuniting with the remainder of the old Israel.

Changing the Guard:

As January 1987 started, West Austria’s Command of the UN force was transferred to American hands.

With stability taking hold in The Wedge, the UN turned its eyes to the remaining northern expanse. It was a brief, but sobering, look that left the UN deeply questioning the logic of trying to bring order to it.

A U.S. Army corporal was quoted as saying the following:

“We went up for a look into the area from a helicopter. We stayed just south of the northern frontier but we could see more than enough.

Through my binoculars, I could see that places like Haifa and Nazareth were more wreckage than structure. The area around Nabulus, where the unmanned MiGs had been used to attack the Warsaw Pact troops, was the most surreal thing I think I’ve ever seen; it was like looking at a picture of the moon. Craters everywhere, except the moon doesn’t have scorched up Russian tanks and mass graves all over it.

I saw a small convoy of vehicles heading towards the border with Lebanon. There was nothing but scattered camps, burned out towns and nothingness around. It was like a “Mad Max” film in a way.

You couldn’t convince me that there was anything worth going in there for.”

Photographic surveillance showed Syrian and Lebanese military build ups along those countries’ borders. Clearly they were not prepared to take the chance of a cell coming over their borders.

Last Details:

Meanwhile, in Dimona, Beersheba, Gaza, Elat and several other locations in North Sinai; people were getting ready for the transition from protectorate to statehood. Everything was right on schedule for the change in September. Those that had doubted it could happen so quickly were happily eating their words.

The Day Arrives:

In the presence of many international leaders, which included the surprising attendance of several delegates from Arab League nations. September 17, 1987 witnessed the birth of a new nation in the world. The transition from North Sinai Protectorate to Republic of North Sinai was happily welcomed.

The day included both military and civil parades and numerous fly-overs of military aircraft including a particularly large, international formation of Panavia Tornados led by an NSAS machine.

The mood was particularly jubilant between North Sinai, Egypt and Jordan. The North Sinai Alliance they had founded was still intact and functioning to the benefit of all three. Many had been even more sceptical of such an alliance being workable than they had been of North Sinai itself.

This was a day where sceptics were silenced on two fronts.

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A New Breed for the OL:

As the festivities in North Sinai went on, the workers at Embraer’s Helwan, Egypt facility were assembling the last two AMX aircraft in what would be the first batch for the OL.

West Austria was a secondary partner in the AMX program. Their contributions had been strictly electronics and avionics related, little evidence of their involvement could be seen on the aircraft externally.

The Helwan built AMX was, for the most part, indistinguishable from its Italian and Brazilian counterparts. However, while the Italians opted for the American M-61 Vulcan cannon and the Brazilians went for a pair of French 30mm DEFA cannons in theirs; the Helwan built examples used a pair of German Mauser BK-27 cannons.

The cannon choice was made to simplify maintenance by having a common cannon between the AMX and the Tornado fleets.

The Helwan line was the largest AMX production centre, thus the bulk of AMXs outside of Brazil and Italy have the Mauser cannons.

Thinning the Heard:

As the MB-326 before it, the MB-339 was a workhorse in OL hands and driven particularly hard in all rolls that it had.

Also, similar to the MB-326 experience, a rash of fatigue related accidents temporarily grounded the OL MB-339 fleet.

The MB-339 was a popular and very useful aircraft that OL had no interest in retiring outright. After thorough inspection of the fleet, it was decided to remove the MB-339 from front line close support work and reserve it for training purposes.

As the first AMX arrived in West Austria in early 1988, the men who would make up the first squadron of them was just returning from training on the type in Italy.

A small ceremony was held at the OL base at Ebensee to see the retirement of the MB-339 “with teeth” and the official beginning of AMX operations.

Shades of Future:

1988 saw the implementation of Gorbachev’s “Perestroika” plan, which many credit to be the beginning of the end for the former Soviet Union and European Socialism.

March 25, 1988 saw the “Candle Demonstration” in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Approximately 5000 Catholics demonstrated peacefully against Socialism before being dispersed by the police.

On March 30, 1988; at least two sizable similar protests were held in East Austria to show solidarity with the sentiments of the one in Bratislava. The largest were in Vienna and Graz. Those protests were closely monitored by wary, but peaceful police forces. The demonstrations were allowed to run their course without incident.

May of that year saw Soviet troops begin to pull out of Afghanistan after eight years.

Force of Reduction:

While the LOVA Flankers plied the skies over the Linz Line, something was amiss by late 1988. “Klagenfurt Airlines” as the various antenna laden aircraft from that base were informally known, had all but stopped flying. Only a single AN-26 had been sighted between September and November and it was positively identified as a standard transport variant from Graz.

In fact, August had seen the beginning of a draw down of military operations from the Klagenfurt airfield.

Satellite imagery had confirmed that several of the aircraft known to be based at Klagenfurt had reappeared, some in pieces, at the LOVA storage facility at Klosterneuburg. The remains of the three Yak-40s that were nearly impossible to lock onto were positively identified in among the other aircraft.

Like Linz, the Klagenfurt airfield had been handed over for civilian use.

Nearby, Ferlach would remain in military hands.

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Drawing Down:

As 1988 drew to a close, there was much less tension along the Linz Line than usual. With Klagenfurt Airlines disbanded and their base of operations now in civil hands, there was much less LOVA air traffic along the line and none of it particularly suspicious.

Just as LOVA had closed down operations from Klagenfurt, considerations were in the works to deactivate an OL base as a form of reciprocal measure. The problem was deciding which one to close.

Ebensee had just been upgraded and refitted to take the OL’s new AMX fleet, so closing it was out of the question

Braunau was also not considered due to the fact that, despite a good chunk of it had been converted to a storage facility for retired and inactive airframes, it still was the largest OL base and had the longest runway in Austria. As such, it was the only airfield in the country that could handle some of the larger transports from NATO allies.

Landeck was too far west to be considered a true reciprocal closure to Klagenfurt.

Salzburg was the smallest OL base, occupying a section of the city’s international airport. However, Salzburg was still the capital of West Austria and direct air access to it for officials was considered essential.

Hallein was serving well as the OL helicopter training base and had undergone an upgrade five years prior, so it was also not a good candidate for closure.

Ultimately, the decision would be to close either Reid or Bad Ischl and consolidate to entire OL Tornado Fleet at one or the other. Each base had two active units of IDS and one unit of ADV aircraft. Neither base was particularly better than the other from a state of repair and neither had room for the entire Tornado fleet. The decision would be made mainly on the grounds of which base had the best expansion potential.

Tornado Conundrum:

As the rather protracted and heated debate of whether to close Reid or Bad Ischl carried on, there was repeated concern that the OL had more Tornados in active service than was really required.

There was a good degree of merit in such sentiments considering that LOVA no longer had any strike aircraft to match the Tornado and the Austrian based Sukhoi Su-24s were also a thing of the past. Additionally, the CAF and British forces were still keeping station in West Austia, for the time being. Four full units of IDS Tornados did seem a bit of overkill in light of such realities and the steadily easing tensions along the Linz Line toward the end of 1988.

In the end, two full IDS squadrons were disbanded and several aircraft sold, primarily to North Sinai.

The remaining IDS fleet was reorganised into three smaller squadrons, one at Bad Ischl and two at Reid, with some aircraft being send into storage at Braunau pending possible upgrading or trading for possibly more ADV variants.

It was felt by some, including the RAF Tornado Wing at Zell and NATO in general, that the reduction of the OL Tornado force was rather premature and should be rethought. However, the enthusiasm of easing Cold War tensions in both Austrias was much stronger than any naysayer’s voice was at the time.

1988 came to an end with no concrete decision on which of the two OL bases in question would be deactivated.

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Southern Rumblings:

As Salzburg and the rest of West Austria entered 1989, the ongoing debate of which OL base to close was put on a distant backburner amid NATO concerns of growing ethnic instability in Yugoslavia.

It had been no secret that such tensions had existed between the Balkan peoples for ages, the late 80s had seen a steady increase in visual evidence of those tensions. Yugoslavia was on the edge of an inevitable disintegration and all signs indicated that it would likely not be  a peaceful one.

Old Idea for a New Beginning:

While events in Yugoslavia had put OL base closure at a significantly lower priority, they had actually put more drive into Austrians to begin the dismantlement of the Linz Line.

Ideas to make the Austrias a singular nation again had been floating around almost since the country was split so many years ago. Many were fanciful and simplistic, others dismissed as impossible under any circumstances.

Generally, the first practical and complete concept to reunite the Austrias was presented by a group of Political Science students at Salzburg University in the late 1970s. Given Cold War tensions of the day, it remained only a concept for academic purposes and was never put forth as a formal proposal. While the students had graduated and gotten on in professional life, their concept had not been forgotten. A former professor of the university, who had moved from academia to public office during the mid 80s retained a copy of the students’ concept as she felt it carried a good deal of potential merit due to the evident thoroughness with which the students had constructed it. The concept was more akin to solid, stable architecture than the over optimistic visions of prior ideas from others.

The concept, as the students had drawn it up, relied on several contingencies to make it workable as they envisioned, the general weakening of Socialism in Europe chief among them. While nobody in the late 70s could envision Socialism weakening enough in the near future, they also could not envision the likes of Gorbachev and his ideas for change coming to power in the Soviet Union as early as the mid 80s.

Striking Hot Iron:

As the former professor turned member of parliament settled into the procedings of the new year; she found her thoughts more frequently going back to those students and their concept. Gorbachev’s ideas of Glastnost and Perestroika were, in the Soviet Union, creating that principal contingency that the students claimed was required; Socilaism in Europe was indeed being weakened.

That fact, in concert with the recent draw down of Soviet military presence in East Austria and reduction of East Austrian military activity along the Linz Line led the former professor to review her copy of the student’s concept and notes. By the end of January, she was convinced that the time was right to seriously consider moving the concept into the realm of proposal. Recent history had moved some required pieces into place, the time was now.

Eastern Concerns:

An air of tension filled the East Austrian parliament and defense ministry buildings. The growing unrest in Yugoslavia had, for the first time in decades, taken primary defensive concerns off of the Linz line and placed them along the southern frontier shared with an increasingly unstable neighbor.

The biggest worry by far in the minds of East Austrian defense officials circled around the possibility of hostilities spilling over the border. There was a significant population of Balkan people living in the southern part of the country, while police had seen nothing to indicate overt hostilities between the various Balkan groups, there was a notable increase in general tension in areas with higher Balkan populations. Both police and military presence had been significantly increased all through the south; while there was little concern that the police could handle the civilian end of things, there was greater concern of the military’s  ability to deter possible armed incursions across the border should they occur.

The East Austrian military was a very different, and smaller organisation in the late 80s than it had been prior to the Israeli conflict. Through a string of restructurings; LOVA had completely lost any heavy strike ability. Save for a dwindling number of increasingly unreliable MiG-27 aircraft and similarly declining stocks of weapons for them; the heaviest hitting aircraft in LOVA inventory were Mi-24 helicopters.

From an air defense standpoint, long range interception was still fully the domain of LOVA’s MiG-23 units and there was increasing doubt over their ability to remain reliable for much longer than the MiG-27s. While the MiG-23s were newer airframes than the MiG-27s and not subjected to the low level flight riggors of the latter, there were tremendous concerns about declining stocks of spare components for members of the “Flogger” family across the Warsaw Pact. While the Su-27 that was supplementing the MiG-23 was extremely popular as a flying machine, nobody gave up an opportunity to make issue of the LOVA Flankers being “Castrated”.

As with LOVA, the East Austrian army had seen significant restructuring after returning from Israel.

While infantry and special forces units were left largely unaffected, the armored divisions were languishing while awaiting long overdue upgrades to their T-72 and BTR-80 fleets.

Ground based air defense had been drastically reduced. The fleet of Shilka vehicles was literally on it’s last legs while the SA-6 missiles and their associated systems were going through a painfully long and drawn out upgrade that was taking much longer than anticipated.

Just as LOVA had completely lost heavy strike, the army had similarly completely lost it’s airborne component.

Looking Within:

Beyond the military concerns, the East Austrian government was facing a similar upheaval among the general population that was about to beset all of Socialist Europe in 1989.

People were speaking out more than they had before, calling for all means of change. By early February, for East Austrians,  even stronger than the call to end Socialism was the call to reunite Austria.

At the end of February, a large demonstration in Linz captured the world’s attention. In a peaceful march; people moved from the main square of the city to a point as near as they safely could get to the Linz Line itself and began to form a human chain parallel to the line. The chain was incomplete, running parallel to roughly a quarter of the line’s length, it was big enough to make headlines around the world.

While some people in the march were arrested or injured by police, it was a very small number. By all accounts, the police were very watchful but overall more concerned with helping people who had been hurt through crowd action than actually controlling the crowd itself.

Reforging and Refining:

By early February the former professor had successfully made contact with all but one of the former students that had drawn up the concept to reunite the country. Their notes were complete, they were quite flattered that anyone had recalled their idea and were more than eager to discuss it’s use as a possible base for a genuine formal proposal for reunification.

Of the original five students involved, two were still in Europe while one had found himself in Japan and another in New Zealand. However, nobody was about to let distance become an issue over having their names attached to something so potentially monumental as this.

Early March saw the four former students and professor gather in Salzburg to review the old concept and examine how it could be converted into a formal proposal that could be presented at an international level.

Through a series of all night sessions, of the sort they hadn’t participated in since their university days, the former students applied the political changes that had taken place in the late 80s along with their accumulated decade or so of professional experience to modernise the concept, and remove some of the more naively idealistic aspects of it, until they had a proposal that the former professor was convinced had a reasonable chance of serious consideration, if not outright acceptance at the national and European parliamentary levels.

On Monday morning, in the last week of March, the former professor presented the proposal to parliament for consideration. The reaction was initially mixed as proposals to reunite the country were nothing new and usually met with a degree of scepticism.

She implored all sides of parliament to read the proposal to see that it did have much more merit and was better thought out than most that had gone before it. The day ended with more uncertainly than it had begun with.

Tuesday’s session started with a completely different air in the parliamentary chambers. Clearly she had convinced enough other MPs to examine the proposal to the point that it was the main discussion topic, not only for the day but for the remainder of the next week and a half.

News of the Austrian reunification proposal was sharing front page space with news of increasing unrest in yugoslavia around the world. The world at large seemed, if not generally supportive, at least very interested at the notion of a reunified Austria.

Two weeks after she had put the proposal in front of the West Austrian parliament, it was accepted in an overwhelming vote. A jubilant mood took over Austrians on either side of the line.

Nationally, it had been accepted. Inside the month, East Austria had been presented with the proposal and swiftly agreed to it in principle.

Convincing the European parliament and other international organisations to recognize a reunited Austria would prove rather more complicated.

[upnorth]

To the World at Large:

In early May of 1989 the two Austrias stood unifed in principle in front of the United Nations general assembly. With the unification proposal in hand, they lobbied for international recognition of a singular Austria.

Just as in the West Austrian parliament, where it had been presented a month prior, the proposal met with mixed reactions from the UN.

Most of the western European contries either fully supported, or at least had no objection to, a unified Austria. A great deal of the support stemmed from NATO concerns over the growing instability in Yugoslavia. A unified Austria would open the possibility to NATO forces basing themselves directly above Slovenia should instabilities increase and spill outside Yugoslav territory. As West Austria was already a long standing NATO member, a unified Austria would automatically be part of the organisation and any fears about where East Austrian loyalties might lie on the matter of Yugoslavia could largely be put to rest.

However, many UN assembly members from the Middle East and Africa had vastly differing views:

Egypt, Jordan and North Sinai had benefitted greatly from working with West Austria and put their full support behind unification.

There was no support from Arab League nations for the unification. Some saw the trinational Sinai Alliance as a product of unwanted foreign influence in the region and an attempt at unwanted “Westernization”. Ultimately, Arab League members who did not stand in direct opposition to Austrian unification simply abstained from the vote to ratify the proposal.

The stance of the Arab League nations had further reaching effects on non Arab League countries in Africa. There was a good deal of pressure put on some of the smaller African countries by the Arab League ones to vote against Austrian unification despite the fact that several of those smaller countries had benefitted through humanitarian activities of the Sinai Alliance and West Austria. While none of those African countries that bordered the Arab League voted outright against unification, several were threatened into abstaining. In the end; Kenya, Chad and Senegal were the only three African countries bordering on the Arab League that voted clearly in favour of Austrian unification.

The strongest voice against unification was heard from Upper Israel, as “The Wedge” had since become internationally known. The objection was based primarily on East Austria’s participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Israel and West Austria’s part in creating North Sinai. To a lesser extent, Austria’s alliance with Germany in WWII also was part of Upper Israel’s objection.

However, Upper Israel was still a probationary member of the general assembly and their vote didn’t carry much weight overall. Many member nations of the assembly openly questioned why a proabtionary member should have voting privelages at all.

Most other countries in the assembly generally put their support behind unification.

The proposal seemed to win UN support, in principle, but there was still more waiting to be done.

Light Through the Curtain:

As the Austrias waited for the UN’s final decision, many smaller organisations were already preparing to deal with a united Austria. Optimism was running at a high indeed.

That optimism was buoyed further by the legalisation of Solidarity in Poland on April 17.

In early May, with the UN still deliberating the pros and cons of recognising a unified Austria; the Austrians took it upon themselves to put the first serious holes in the “Iron Curtain” by removing two key guard stations along the Linz Line and allowing a small flow of traffic to move freely between east and west.

The Linz/Wels gate, or Marchtrenk Station as it was properly known, in the north and the Villach Pass (Paternion Station) in the south were two of the better known guard posts to the rest of the world along the Linz line.

Through the course of the Cold War, the Villach Pass took on a dark notoriety as the “Most deadly place on the Linz Line”. For decades, the west read grim statistics of how many defectors  fell to border guard rifles between the Villach townsite and the actual guard post at Paternion.

While there is no debate that several defectors were shot, the exact number became quite debatable in the post Socialist era. Claims of unmarked mass graves of defectors near the townsites of Fresach and Gummem were investigated in the mid 90s, but no such graves were found.

There was also a tremendous differential between western published statistics and official East Austrian Border Police records for how many defectors had actually been shot. Coupled with the fact that it was border police policy to capture and imprison defectors in all possible cases; most authorities considered the dark reputation of the Villach Pass to be largely dubious by the late 1990s.

Another Gear Up:

Late May saw the world’s attention taken away from events in Poland and the Austrias by the demonstrations in Tianenmen Square in China. Europe was not the only place where people were speaking out against Socialism.

While the demonstrations in China would ultimately be quashed, the grip of Socialism was ever loosening in Europe.

The victory of Solidarity in the Polish national election on June 4 set in motion a series of revolutions across Socialist Europe. Peaceful demonstrations throughout the summer in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Austrias to end Socialism were seen daily through media outlets around the world.

August saw the formalisation of the first non-Communist government in Poland in over 42 years.

In the final week of August, after months of waiting, the UN announced it had come to a decision on the ratification of the the Austrian unification proposal and would make an official announcement at a press conference on September 10.

The Long Night:

It has been said by many that nobody in either Austria slept at all on the night of September 9, 1989.

The air was full of speculation; unbridled optimism met with stark pessimism and everything in between. Naysayers felt the UN had taken too long and that it was a sure sign of rejection; still others took the opposite stance saying that if the proposal was going to be rejected, it would have taken a much shorter time for the UN to announce it.

Into Dawn:

September 10 arrived and Austrians everywhere gathered anywhere a television could be found, be it an electronics shop, hotel lobby, sports clubs with large screen TVs……

As the hours passed by, speculation from the night before continued unabated among people.

Finally, in the early afternoon of September 10, a live broadcast from the UN general assembly informed Austrians that the world at large would, from that day forward, recognise a single Austria.

Across Austria, husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and complete strangers embraced and revelled in the news well into the next morning.

Before September 10 was finished, all gates along the Linz Line were in one state or another of dismantlement. Border guards laid down their rifles and picked up wire cutters.

September 12 witnessed the official dissolution of the East Austrian Socialist Party and the beginning of a draw down and eventual handover of national capital status from Salzburg to Vienna.

Over the course of the following two weeks, military engineering regiments from the newly unified Austrian army busied themselves removing all manner of Linz Line remnants from the landscape. Many turned a tidy profit for themselves by selling segments of barbed wire to souvenir hunters near and far.

Taking Stock:

Socialism had left Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria before 1989 was finished.

Austrian skies were filled with a mixed bag of western and eastern built military aircraft; a similar menagerie of land vehicles complemented the reformed Austrian army.

After a survey of all military equipment in Austrian hands, certain decisions about the country’s new order of battle had to be made.

Decisions regarding the army were quite straightforward. With so much armor and ground anti aircraft gear awaiting updates, that would now never come, complete re-equipment with western gear was in order.

The air element was rather a different matter:

The former LOVA Mi-17 and Mi-24 fleets were in particuarly good repair, had recently undergone extensive upgrades and were popular with their crews. As there was a significant second hand market for spare parts and the like for both helicopter types, it was decided to keep them in front line service for as long as possible and hope to make them NATO compliant as well. With the signing of a mainteneance agreement with the Czech Republic in the mid 90s, Austrian Hips and Hinds still fly on the front lines today.

The L-39 Albatros fleet was still relatively new and easy to maintain. A deal was struck between Austria and Czechoslovakia to support the Austrian Albatros fleet. The L-39 is still used as a weapons delivery trainer and test aircraft by Austria today.

The Su-27, after barely a half decade of service, was taken from front line service almost immediately after unification. Despite the fact the ex LOVA Flankers were “downgraded” they were still of emense interest to NATO as a point of study. Two airframes were kept in Austria for museum and gate guard purposes. Three others, plus spares found a new home at Boscombe Down in Great Britain. Two more, plus spares, went to the Luftwaffe testing establishment in Manching, Germany. The remaining airframes and spares were sold to America.

The LOVA MiG-23s flew on as long as spares would allow them to and Zeltweg could be refitted as a Tornado ADV base. The MiG-27s were retired immediately after unification.

Obergrafendorf was a shadow of the base it had been at the hight of the Cold War. It was the last home of the LOVA MiG-21. Most of the base was disused save for the part that was home to the MiG-21Rs of the tactical reccon wing. The Obergraffendorf ranges were now half the size they had been in the days of the Sukhoi heavy strike wings. The MiG-21s had to go; there was serious concern regarding the continued operation of the base as well.

Obergraffendorf was given a repreive and was made home to a Tornado IDS wing. The remaining unused part of the base was prepared as an aircraft storage facility, with the intent to close the base at Klosterneuburg permanently.

The OL base at Bad Ischl was closed in early 1990 and it’s Tornado wing initially sent to Obergrafendorf. Toward the end of 1990 all Austrian Tornado ADV activity was moving to Zeltweg.

Onward:

Austria finished 1989 peacfully and brought in 1990 with fireworks and revelling of the sort nobody had seen in years

Despite the looming powderkeg that the Balkans were becoming, and Austria would eventually be involved in policing, spirits were high for a bright future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[upnorth]

That's it for the story itself, I'm in the process of putting together an epilogue of sorts.

[Geoff]

That was excellent. Thank you!

Lots of inspiration, and a guy at my local club has run off a sheet of LOVA stars.

[apophenia]

That is an epic 'north! Well done.

I was intrigued by Embraer buying the plant at Helwan. Anything else being built there besides the Tucano? I'm interested in general but specifically interested in any local use of the EMB 121 Xingu.

[upnorth]

That is an epic 'north! Well done.

I was intrigued by Embraer buying the plant at Helwan. Anything else being built there besides the Tucano? I'm interested in general but specifically interested in any local use of the EMB 121 Xingu.

It started as a EMB 312 building facility. The Tucano was aggressively marketed to Africa and the Middle East from Embraer's Beersheba/Dimona division. To a slightly lesser degree, it was marketed to Europe as a direct competitor to the Pilatus trainers.

The marketing was a resounding success and a dedicated facility had to be found or built. The Helwan facility was in existance and, through the Sinai Alliance treaties, accessible. Through a friendly takeover bid, Helwan became an Embraer subsidiary.

After the African, Middle Eastern and European orders for the Tucano had been satisfied; the Helwan facility scaled back it's Tucano operations to overhaul and refurbishment and opened the AMX line. Currently, with AMX production concluded, Helwan is preparing for EMB 314 Super Tucano production. Fulfiling African orders alone for the 314 is likely to keep them busy for the next few years.

Once the Helwan facility was acquired, it became the focus of military aircraft production while the much larger facility at Beersheba/Dimona focused on civil aircraft to feed the growing interest in Embraer short haul airliners and corporate types that was growing in the African. Middle Eastern and European markets.

The Xingu was used on a limited scale by the Egyptian navy for coastal security. It was also used on a small scale by the Jordanian National Police, North Sinai National Police and North Sinai Customs Service. NSAS never used the type. That was the full extent of Xingu use in the region and all airframes were built in Brasil and assembled at Beersheba/Dimona.

In a larger epilogue, I will more fully describe the production, service and disposition of Embraer aircraft overseen by the Beersheba/Dimona division and the marketing regions it serves.

[upnorth]

Epilogue – Austria, 1990 to present:

The newly reunified Austria spent a large portion of the 1990s reorganising it’s assets and resources at all levels of government. The military was, of course, not immuned to the reorganisation.

The first military restructuring involved the army. Relatively little of the Soviet supplied armor of the former East Austrian army was servicable and it was decided to phase out the remainder in favour of Leopard MBT/Canaan IFV combination the west was using.

Much of the soft skin vehicles, small arms and artillery in eastern hands was still acceptable for service; this was largely due to the fact that it had all been locally designed and produced. Through the course of the 1990s, these domestically produced machines would find favour in the ground forces of the Austrian military. By the end of the 90s, they would be fully NATO compliant and standard equipment.

The Austrian technology sector was stronger than ever. Through a series of joint projects with North Sinai Defense Industries in the 1990s, the Austrian military had some of the best radar, optics and sighting systems in NATO.

As the bulk of mobile radar vehicles were built on Steyr or OAF trucks, the joint projects with North Sinai paid very good dividends indeed for both manufacturers. NSAS took on Steyr and OAF trucks in large numbers through the 1990s; not only for mobile radar, but also utility purposes.

The various optics and sighting systems developed between Austria and North Sinai became standard equipment on Leopard MBTs and Canaan IFVs anywhere the vehicles served.

Many of these machines were put into use when Austrian troops entered the Balkans as part of the UN policing and peacekeeping forces and gave the Austrian land forces the reputation of being some of the most effective and capable in the region.

The Austrian air force also saw restructuring, but it was rather a more complex matter than the army had been.

Several of the LOVA aircraft, particularly Czech built trainers and transports, were still quite servicable and in good repair; good continuing relations with the Czech Republic assured this situation could remain. Good relations with the Czechs also assured that the LOVA Mi-24 and Mi-17 helicopter fleets had remained in top form while other Soviet produced machines had literally started falling apart in the air.

Equally good relations with Poland had kept the LOVA Mi-2 Hoplite and W-3 Sokol helicopters in good shape as well.

In early 1995 a small ceremony took place at Zeltweg air base to mark the very last Austrian MiG-21 and MiG-23 flights. In a triumphant show, every remaining airworthy Fishbed and Flogger left in Austrian service made it into the air that day for a large and impressive mixed formation with the Tornados that had taken over for them. With a large crowd of former MiG-21 and MiG-23 pilots and groundcrew on hand for the spectacle, it was an emotional day to say the least.

The issue of combat jets in the Austrian air force was really a non issue. Enough Tornados of both IDS and ADV variants were in storage at Branau, that they could easily be pulled back into service to form an additional unit or two if need be. The AMX fleet had just undergone a major modernisation program and, as Austria had also secured themselves a place at the table for the upcoming Eurofighter Typhoon, there really was not much to talk about on the air defence and strike fronts.

Trainers and helicopters were a much more difficult issue.

While the MB-339 and L-39 Albatros were both very capable and respected trainer aircraft, many questioned the need for two trainer types of the same class. Both types were extremely popular with those who flew them and nobody wanted to give either up.

After a good deal of debate, the decisision was made to retire the MB-339 completely. The weapons capable MB-339 had been retired shortly after the AMX entered service while the L-39ZA was still quite reliably training pilots on weapons delivery techniques and the L-39C was just as reliably providing basic fast jet training. The Albatros existed in larger numbers and had an extensive service infrastructure behind it. While, pragmatically, the decision largely made itself; many today still believe it was the wrong decision.

The Zlin 142 basic trainer fleet was particularly interesting as it’s western counterpart, the SF.260, had been retired some time before in the OL in favour of the Embraer Tucano. Many felt a piston based basic trainer still had a place in a modern military, the Zlin gave them a chance to recover that aspect. Training accidents had gone up somewhat in the OL after the SF.260 was retired, if bringing a slower basic trainer aspect back would save some Tucanos and young aspiring pilots, the Zlins were worth keeping. Eventually, the Z-142s were replaced by Z-242s.

While the Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters found a place in the unified Austrian military, the Mi-2 and W-3 Sokol Helicopters were relegated to surplus status.

Between the Former West Austrian fleet of AS.350,  EC-135 and Puma Helicopters; the Mi-2 and W-3 had no place in the unified Austrian order of battle and were swiftly sold or scrapped.

The Chinook left Austrian service in a similarly controversial style as the MB.339 had. The LOVA Mi-17 fleet was larger, and largely fresher, than the OL Chinooks were. The Mi-17 was found quite capable and Chinook crews warmed up to it eventually.

In the 2000s, Austria and the Czech Republic both purchased fleets of Mi-171 and Mi-35 helicopters. The Hip and Hind remain in front line Austrian service today.

Transport needs in both Austrias were due for restructuring at the beginning of the 1990s. The only former LOVA transport type that carried on in service after unification was the Let L-410 Turbolet; this was largely due to ties with the Czech Republic that ensured continuing support for the type.

The Hercules fleet was due for refreshment and had been completely replaced by refurbished  former USAF H models from Lockheed by the mid 1990s.

The DHC-6 Twin Otters were solidly soldiering on. However, the DHC-5 Buffalos were retired in the mid 1990s after wing spar fatigue had caused two fatal crashes and having the remaining aircraft rewinged was prohibitively expensive.

The G.222s were replaced by the C-27 Spartan in the 2000s

Reflective of the strong ties to North Sinai, the Austrian jet transport element became solidly Embraer machinery through the course of the 1990s.

By 1995, Austria was defending itself completely. The NATO obligations of Britain and Canada had finished and the forces of both countries had left Austrian soil.

The RAF base at Zell became a civilian airfield while the CAF base at Lienz was taken over and refitted by the Austrian military for use as a helicopter training base to replace Hallein.

The disposition of OL bases and their associated aircraft from unification onwards:

Bad Ischl:
The first former OL base to cease operations after unification; Bad Ischl’s runways started being ripped up almost as soon as it’s Tornado wing was transferred to Zeltweg.

The land was sold and a wind turbine farm built upon it.

Braunau:
Headquarters of Training Command, Braunau continues to today as the Austrian air force’s advanced training base with a mixed fleet of Embraer EMB-312 Tucanos and Aero L-39C Albatros. It also serves as home to the Austrian air force display team, which is comprised of 10 Tucanos.

Braunau no longer serves as a storage depot for retired aircraft types. From 1995 onwards, all storage of former OL and LOVA airframes was centralised at Obergrafendorf.

Ebensee:
Shortly after reunification, Ebensee found itself on a shortlist of bases to be closed. While Ebensee was one of the smaller bases, it was home to the AMX strike wing and the pricipal employer for people in the region. Ebensee was saved from closure when the other two bases on the short list; Bad Leonfelden and Ferlach were seen to be closer to major employment centres. Ultimately, Ferlach was closed.

Ebensee continues as the heart of Austrian AMX operations today.

Hallein:
Near Salzburg, Hallein served as OL’s helicopter training base for many years; later taking on responsibility for alpine training unter NATO’s EOTP program.

From 1995 all Austrian air force helicopter training, along with EOTP training was moved to the former CFB Lienz. Hallein was officially closed in 1996.

The Austrian Chinook was officially retired at the same time as Hallein’s closure.

Innsbruck:
The smallest OL base by far, Innsbruck is  just a corner of  the city’s airport. The single Austrian squadron of Twin Otters remains active there today.

Landeck:
Critical to operations in the Tyrolean Alps, Landeck remains a nerve centre for rescue and transport operations throughout the region.

Puma and Mi-17 helicopters have operated there since late 90s with the Mi-17s replaced by Mi-171s in the early 2000s.

Lienz:
Refurbishment of the former CFB Lienz had started before the Canadian military had fully moved out in 1993. Austria was looking for a new base for helicopter training and Lienz was seen as ideal for the purpose.

Today, Lienz is home to a large contingient of AS.350 training helicopters and five alpine optimized Mi-171 EOTP helicopters.

Reid:
Still active, Reid has seen a modest degree of expansion and serves as home to the Austrian Tornado IDS strike wing.

Salzburg:
Like Innsbruck, Salzburg air base was a section of the city’s airport. With reunification, Salzburg ceased any functions as a national capital and there was no further need to keep a military presence there once the Hercules squadron had been relocated to Graz in 1992.


The disposition of LOVA bases and their associated aircraft from unification onwards:

Bad Leonfelden:
The base remained active as home to the L-39Z equiped weapons delivery training unit until 1998 when Obergrafendorf was reopenned after lengthy renovations.

Bad Leonfelden was closed permanently in 1999 and it’s land converted to commercial purposes.

Feldbach:
LOVA’s old basic flying training base carries on that tradition today for Austria with enough Zlin 142 and 242 aircraft to prepare new trainees for more advanced training at Braunau or Lienz.

Ferlach:
Former home to LOVA’s Mi-17 and Mi-24 forces, Ferlach was closed in 1993.

Ferlach’s Hips and Hinds initially went to Obergrafendorf, but moved quickly in late 1994 when that base was closed for renovations. The Hips moved to Hallein and Landeck while the Hinds went to Graz.

Graz:
Headquarters for Transport Command, Graz is a large and busy base. Hercules and G.222 units moved to Graz from Salzburg as AN-26 action drew to a close in the early 1990s. A small base flight of L-410 Turbolets and the Mi-24 Hind squadron on the opposite side of the field stand as a reminder of the base’s LOVA past.
From 2008 to today, the Austrian C-130H and G.222s have been steadily replaced by C-130J and C-27 Spartan aircraft.

Klosterneuburg:
A virtual ghost town of a base in 1990, it served only as a storage depot for retired LOVA types and had no extra space to continue serving unified Austrian force in that capacity.

The base was quietly closed in 1994.

Obergrafendorf:
This base experienced a rebirth in the 1990s. The base and it’s range had grown quiet in the late 1980s and it’s runways and tarmacs in desperate need of repair. A decision was made to close and refurbish both the base and it’s range, this herculean task began in early 1995.

Obergrafendorf received it’s first new assignment, ironically as soon as it was closed to flying in late 1994. That assignment was to be the storage depot for retired Austian military aircraft and vehicles. Mothballed aircraft from Braunau and Klosterneuberg were relocated there by rail or road.

The base was reopened to flying operations in 1998 and the weapons delivery training wing from Bad Leonfelden with their L-39Z aircraft moved in immediately and remain there today.

Wiener-Neustadt:
The roar of LOVA’s Tupolev and Yakovlev VIP transport jets has long since been replaced with a brace of Embraer corporate and commercial types in the VIP transport role.

As with Graz, there is a small contingient of L-410 Turbolets at Wiener-Neustadt.

Wolfsberg:
While Wolfsberg is the army garrison that it has always been, in the 1990s it became home for a unit of EC-135 helicopters that are used for LOH and medevac duties.

Zeltweg:
Headquarters of Tactical Command, Zeltweg is the heart of Austria’s air defence force.

Shortly after unification, all Tornado ADV operations were tansfered to Zeltweg and the type operated alongside former LOVA MiG-23s for most of the easrly 1990s until the Latter type was retired in 1995.

Presently the Austrian air force operates a mix of Tornado ADVs and Eurofighter Typhoons from Zeltweg.

[apophenia]

Great stuff upnorth ... but check your PMs 

[upnorth]

Epilogue: North Sinai and the Sinai Alliance – 1990 to Present

North Sinai, along with its Sinai Alliance partners, Egypt and Jordan, entered the 1990s on an optimistic note. The economies of all three nations were generally strong and stable and all three were attracting considerable foreign attention from investors and tourists alike. The world was paying attention to the three unlikely partners and most of the world liked what it saw.

International conferences and exhibitions of all sorts started to become commonplace in major centres throughout the three countries and many held the alliance in high regard as an example of what could be accomplished when old animosities were consigned to the past.

The Arab League, while still cold to the idea of the Sinai Alliance, remained neutral towards it and did nothing to provoke unrest within it. Indeed, the Arab League had other issues to contend with as the early 90s brought with them the Gulf War against Iraq.

While the three Sinai Alliance nations were not direct combatants in the war, they did support Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and provided critical logistics and transport services to coalition forces directly involved in the fighting. Additionally, Jordan provided basing for a RAF strike wing within reach of western Iraq at a base near Ar-Ruwayshid. The base was also home to a wing of Jordanian Tornado ADVs specifically tasked with the air defence of the eastern portion of Jordan’s Al Mafraq region. In addition to the Tornados, Al Mafraq’s regional air defences included a sizable contingient of air defence optimised Canaan vehicles with a standard compliment of four domestically developed Akrab SAM missiles each.

The conflict in the Persian Gulf carried on for four years and culminated in the successful capture of Saddam Hussein by British SAS in late July of 1994 and the consequent collapse of the remainder of his government.

While they had not been directly involved in the combat aspect of the conflict, the Sinai Alliance nations were very much involved with the UN policing of Iraq in the aftermath of the conflict. All three countries spent the remainder of the 1990s assisting in the rebuilding of Iraq and it’s infrastructure.  That assistance was a critical element in the Arab League taking a more accepting stance toward the Sinai Alliance.

In the years following the Persian Gulf War, the three nations have seen an increase in business and investment from several Arab League nations.

Upper Israel continues to be a perpetual detractor of North Sinai and officially refuses to recognise it as an independent state. In all official documentation generated by Upper Israel, North Sinai is simply referred to as “Lower Israel”. There is little overt animosity between the two beyond such name calling; while North Sinai has prospered and grown strong, Upper Israel has progressed little since the end of the hostilities that pulled Israel apart and has inadequate resources to up the ante against it’s young southern neighbour. Generally speaking, North Sinai considers itself happily divorced from the old Israel that was run from the north and cared so little about the needs of the south and the bulk of the world is on North Sinai’s side.


Embraer continues to be a major engine to the North Sinai and Egyptian industrial bases. A second aviation manufacturer, AeroSinai, was established in 1990; while their main line of business is sports and general aviation, which do not conflict heavily with Embraer’s business, they did create a concept for an indigenous combat aircraft in 1994.

The AeroSinai ICA concept did get the aviation world’s attention, particularly when it was presented as a full scale mock up at the Sinai AeroExpo event at Elat in 1996. Most people commented that it looked like a mix of a Sepecat Jaguar and Mirage F.1 with a bit of Panavia Tornado mixed in. The ICA generated only lukewarm interest and was ultimately cancelled at the mock up stage. AeroSinai subsequently returned to their sport and GA business, but their mock up had not been forgotten.

In the mid 2000s, with Embraer fully concentrating on meeting their civil and military aircraft orders, AeroSinai was granted the license for Eurofighter Typhoon production and overhaul facilities for the NSAS, Egyptian and Jordanian fleets of the type.

AeroSinai did not disappoint with their production and maintenance of the Typhoon. Largely this was due to the fact that much of the company’s executive management were former IAI, Elbit, Rafael and Elta people who had been made redundant as Embraer took over larger chunks of the old Israel’s aviation industry. Behind the main business of sport and GA, AeroSinai did possess the talent pool to make fully combat capable aircraft.

AeroSinai has since expanded from the Typhoon and taken over deep maintenance and overhaul duties for the three nations’ Tornado fleets as well.

The Canaan IFV, which was North Sinai’s first, and still best known military export, continues to impress and win new customers in its more advanced forms. Today, beyond it’s IFV role, it exists in air defence, APC and armoured medevac variants.

Sinai Defence Systems, like AeroSinai, is a relatively young company built from the pieces of former Israeli companies. Former members of fallen Israeli companies created SDS; as a result, what the new company lacked in market presence, it more than made up for in experienced leadership. This showed clearly in SDS’ long lived flagship product, the Canaan.

Initially intended to be an IFV offshoot of the Leopard 2 MBT, the Canaan became a worldwide best selling vehicle that served as a very adaptable basis for a variety of weapons platforms.

The base vehicle was a shortened Leopard 2 with a front mounted engine. The width of the Leopard was kept, but a set of road wheels was removed. The earliest versions were not expected to see wide service or be much more than IFVs, as such, they were not particularly adaptable or flexible. However, they were well liked and sold well enough to justify some rethinking of the design.

The Canaan Mk.III incorporated a good deal more modular design to the vehicle, which allowed the top deck to be easily adapted to the turret and armament preferences of a variety of operators. It was through the Mk.III that the Canaan truly started to come of age and started attracting sales at a global level.

It was also at the time of the Mk.III that SDS began a long association with the Italian arms manufacturer, Oto Melara. The relationship continues today and is so strong that Oto Melara turrets and guns are factory standard equipment on Canaans unless otherwise is specified by the purchaser. With a few notable exceptions, such as Germany, most European users of the Canaan have ordered it as factory standard.

One of the more notable accomplishments of the Canaan is its near complete replacement of M-113 based vehicles in most places they served. The Canaan has a much better balance of size to power than the M-113 and this has been particularly appreciated in the heavily armed IFV and AA variants.

There are three main marks of Canaan in service today:

Mk.III:
Built to be the basis of IFV and APC vehicles, the Mk.III is well armoured, powerful and adaptable to be fitted with most western developed turret designs and gun combinations.

The Mk.III was built in huge numbers and is available in second hand refurbished form from SDS with an Oto Melara Hitfist 25-30 turret/gun combination as standard.

Mk.V:
A lightened version designed for medivac, communications, radar and reconnaissance duties, the Mk.V is not a commonly seen variant and was built in relatively small numbers. Most nations who took the Mk.III opted for wheeled vehicles in the roles the Mk.V was intended for as they were seen as more mobile and cost effective in those roles than an armour based vehicle would be.

Mk.VI:
The Mk.VI hull was optimised for the heavier turrets and weapons systems of the anti-aircraft role. The Mk. VI was more popular than the Mk.V and, like the Mk.III, had modular top decking to make it adaptable to a variety of systems.

The Mk.VI existed in two forms; a baseline VI with AA gun armament and a VI R with a strengthened suspension for missile based AA systems.

While the factory standard Mk.VI is equipped with an Oto Melara SIDAM 25 system, the Mk. VI R represents a rare departure from the SDS/Oto Melara partnership. The Mk. VI R takes the Akrab missile system developed by Jordanian Tactical Dynamics as its factory standard gear.

The JTD Akrab, or Scorpion, system is seen as roughly on par with the Strela 10 in range but somewhat superior in other aspects.

The Mk. IV designation was given to a failed recovery vehicle version. It was limited in both strength and weight for the role and abandoned in favour of a Leopard 2 based type.

A wide range of variations has been seen on the Canaan, some of the more notable variations are:

Mk. III D:
German army variant, which features a KUKA E4/Mauser 30mm turret and gun combination.

Mk. V P:
Specialised civil variant with lightened armour for police work.

Mk. VI FK:
Specialised civil variant for rescue and fire fighting duties.

Mk. VI CR:
Canadian army variant fitted with Oerlikon-Contraves ADATS turret and associated equipment.

Currently, the North Sinai Armed Services are considered a very well equipped and capable force on all levels.

Beyond the Leopard 2 and Canaan based armour, NSAS land element uses a wide array of Steyr and OAF wheeled vehicles for utility, transport and infantry purposes. Additionally, NSAS has recently taken on the Dingo 2 vehicle.

NSAS air elements are also well equipped.

All pilots start at Beersheba with the AeroSinai two place Hoopoe basic piston trainer and then move on to the Tucano before graduating to the MB-339. Helicopter training is done at Elat with AS.350s

The standard utility helicopter in NSAS is the EC-145. Heavier work is done with Super Pumas and second hand Chinooks. Recently, NSAS signed into a deal for a small fleet of Eurocopter Tigre gunships.

Tactical transport is a mixed fleet of C-130J and C-27 Spartan aircraft. Light transport and VIP work is carried out by a variety of Embraer aircraft.

The NSAS tactical aircraft fleet consists of the AMX, Tornado IDS and ADV and, most recently, the Eurofighter Typhoon. It has been announced that the Tornado force will be downsized over the next few years.

Coastal patrol and surveillance was carried out with a unit of second hand Italian Breguet Atlantic aircraft until they were retired in 2005 in favour of the Embraer P-99.

The NSAS maritime element was the smallest of the three service branches and was almost completely reserve in nature as the Egyptian navy carries defensive responsibilities for Sinai Alliance waters in the Mediterranean and around the Sinai Peninsula. In 1995 NSAS maritime was reorganised into the North Sinai Coast Guard and operate exclusively in the SAR role with a small fleet of surface ships and Puma helicopters.

There was brief talk of replacing the NSCG Pumas with Merlins, but the very expensive purchases of the Tigre gunships and Typhoon fighters effectively ended any further talk of Merlins for either NSCG or NSAS in general; the Pumas still had life in them and were popular.

Under Sinai Alliance arrangements, North Sinai, Egypt and Jordan share a pool of Embraer R-99 AEW aircraft.

Today North Sinai and its Sinai Alliance partners remain very active in world affairs and all three have seen the standard of living within their borders steadily rise as a result.

North Sinai has not only become the “World’s Meeting Place” as it often markets itself, but it has also, in its way, become a realisation of the “New Israel” concept from the 1970s. Judaism is still the religion of majority in North Sinai, however, Islam and Christianity exist alongside it with little to no friction; this is due largely to the state’s rather overt discouragement of hard line practice of any religion by the populace.






 

[GTX_Admin]

Well I thought I was the Master of the long story...I guess I have now been usurped! :)

[upnorth]

Glad you enjoyed it, Greg.

I actually surprised myself with the whole Israel/North Sinai sub plot. It really just kind of hit me out of nowhere as a stand alone story but ended up getting stuck in here as a way to involve the two Austrias in world affairs. I never imagined it would take up so much of the story.

I have to admit that this whole story arc really took on a life of it's own when all I'd really intended to do was extend my Bucharest Alliance story a bit with it.

I've been in contact with Apophenia by PM about all kinds of details, so I can't wait to see what sort of visuals he'll add to this. I really can't thank him enough for his generous help in bringing the vehicles in the story to life. He's also been very helpful in developing my armour ideas.

I do plan to build a few of the vehicles I've mentioned, but there's no way I could ever do all of them.

Geoff sent me a partial sheet of LOVA stars, so that will really help things on that end. Between those and an IPMS Austria sheet I have that I can use for OL stuff, I should be able to make a few styrene renditions of stuff in here.

[GTX_Admin]

I know what you mean - they seem to develop a life of their own.

[apophenia]

Great stuff 'north! Here's my first stab at the Canaan IFV.

Left is a fairly early production Canaan Mk.III in bog-standard North Sinai camouflage and markings.

Right is a deployed Canadian Forces Cougar II based on the  Canaan III Upgrade dressed in full Barracuda thermal mats and slat armour.

[upnorth]

Those are great!

The NSAS low vis insignia looks quite sharp on that Canaan.

[apophenia]

Cheers 'north. Yeah, I liked the NS flag effect as well. I tried a paler version but settled on that 'semi lo-viz' version.

I've mounted a pair of Air Defence Canaans (CCV ADATS and a Canaan Mk.VI SIDAM 25 in a display scheme) on my profiles page. See: http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8566#msg8566

[upnorth]

I just snapped up a Revell 1/72 Leo 2 today, so a styrene Canaan Mk.VI with Akrab is in the cards.

Can you tell me which set of road wheels you pulled out to make your profiles? I can't put my finger on it just by looking.

[apophenia]

Upnorth: On the profiles, I yanked the #2 set (from the front in the original Leopard 2 layout). Just to complicate you life further, IIRC, I placed the former #1 set by where the track links fit best 

I've just put up another set of Canaan profiles. These are direct-fire support variants
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8811#msg8811

[Edit: And another ... this one's the joint Korean/SDS SK-30 BiHo/Sharav SPAAG
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg8844#msg8844

[apophenia]

Still more Canaan derivatives ... this time, the Spanish-built Enasa-Pegaso Cortés VCI and a fire support vehicle with Thyssen-Henschel Begleitpanzer 57 turret.

http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg9058#msg9058

[upnorth]

I'm bringing this thread back up to the surface to add a quick sketch I've just finished of a LOVA Zlin Z-526 Trener-Master:



The drawing shows the aircraft as they appeared shortly after deliveries began in 1961.

A/C 1177 was the seventh Z-526 to be delivered to the LOVA basic flight training establishment at Feldbach. It was formally accepted in late May of 1961.

LOVA Z-526 aircraft were initially delivered in overall silver with yellow training trim.

As was common practice, each aircraft was "adopted" by a municipality somewhere in the country shortly after being taken on charge and that town or city's coat of arms would be applied to the aircraft.

A/C 1177 was adopted by Jennersdorf.

There were no hard and fast rules in LOVA about size and location of the coat of arms. On average, the shield would appear of the left side of the fuselage and tended to be a bit larger or training and transport types. A/C 1177 was in the minority of aircraft that had the shield applied to both sides of the fuselage.

OL also encouraged towns and cities to adopt aircraft but were much stricter about placement and sizing of the shields. Aircraft could only have one shield applied and it had to be on the left side of the aircraft. There was a standard sizing system for shields and the size of the shield used was governed largely by the size and role of the aircraft  in question.

[GTX_Admin]

Good work.

[Geoff]

As an aside an Austrian company did upgade some T-62s which were for the middle east in real life.